Mumbai: For want of affordable accommodation, several candidates who have arrived here with their relatives for an ongoing police recruitment drive have taken shelter at railway stations and under the bridges in south Mumbai.
Mumbai Police has received a whopping 5.8 lakh applications for 4,230 vacancies, officials said.
Over the last two days, groups of such candidates, who have come from across Maharashtra, were seen looking for a place to spend the night.
More than 1.10 lakh candidates have applied for 1,257 vacancies of women police constable.
The `ground events' -- running and other tests to assess physical capability -- are underway at Marine Lines in South Mumbai and GRP Ground in Ghatkopar.
City police have made arrangements for the candidates, but those accompanied by their relatives are facing difficulties. Many women candidates have arrived in the city with their parents, husbands and even children in tow.
A young woman from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, 338 km away from Mumbai, sought shelter at Marine Lines railway station along with her husband and two small children.
She was scheduled to participate in ground tests on Thursday.
"I am arranging food for her and the children, but we can not afford to stay at a hotel for the night," the husband told PTI.
"There is a possibility of rain. We have no option but to stay at the railway station. This is the safest place," he said.
A candidate from Amaravati, more than 600 km away, came with her two sisters and mother.
She had completed her ground tests, but her sister, also a police job aspirant, was scheduled to take part in the tests on Thursday. The four of them chose to stay at the railway station.
Some candidates and their relatives were seen staying under the Marine Lines foot-over bridge, while some found space on the steps of closed shops in the area.
"We are providing candidates the facility to stay at the Mumbai University ground and Wankhede stadium," said a senior police official.
"We are calling 8,000 candidates daily for the ground events in various slots, but many are with their relatives, so the police are not able to provide facilities to these relatives," he added.
At the Ghatkopar police ground, hangar tents have been provided and they can accommodate more than 4,000 candidates at a time, he said.