Patna: Bihar Engineering Services Association (Besa) on Sunday demanded regular appointment of engineers, citing that more than half the posts had been lying vacant. The group rejected the state government's flood preparations, labelling them "unrealistic till the manpower crunch was addressed in various departments".

In a news release, Besa said the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) had made no regular appointment through an open competitive examination since 2014, which resulted in over 50 per cent of the sanctioned posts of engineers still lying vacant in various departments. That had adversely affected many development work under chief minister Nitish Kumar's seven resolves.

Speaking on the shortage of engineers in Bihar, Besa president Ajoy Kumar Sinha said: "There are over 3,623 vacant posts of engineers in the state. Half of it are vacant. "How can Bihar be saved from the flood menace if there is a lack of engineers who can build barrages and walls?"