The number of individuals attending the Yuva Sathi camps has not decreased, despite an online alternative being offered

On Monday, 22,899 people visited the camps in Calcutta, the third-highest footfall in the camps since they started on February 15, according to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC).

Officials of the KMC, which is organising the camps in Calcutta, said a registration number is created for every person who collects a form. This number will be used when the applicant returns to submit the filled-out forms. They will be used to track the status of applications.

“We thought the numbers would come down, but they have not, at least till Monday. We will get a better picture on Tuesday,” said an official.

“People are still visiting the camps in large numbers, at least in the Jadavpur and Tollygunge Assembly constituencies,” said a Trinamool councillor.

The camps are supposed to continue till Thursday.

The drive had initially begun with 35 camps across the city. Midway through last week, three additional centres were set up outside the office of Bengal’s Chief Electoral Officer at BBD Bagh, near the Shipping Corporation of India building and outside the Tea Board of India.

On Monday, a canopy stood near the CEO’s office where Trinamool Congress workers had arranged tables to assist applicants in filling out forms.

The Yuva Sathi scheme is scheduled to commence on April 1. Under the scheme, unemployed youths aged between 21 and 40 who have passed the Madhyamik examination will receive ₹1,500 per month for five years or until they secure a job.

Deep Sagar Malakar, 22, a third-year undergraduate student at Bangabasi College, said the money would help him pay a portion of his tuition fee.

“The monthly allowance will help me to pay a portion of tuition fees. It will also help me to pay some of my educational expenses as well,” said Malakar.

Sujal Shaw, 22, who is pursuing a master’s degree in computer science at a private college in New Town, welcomed the financial aid but stressed the need for employment opportunities. “This is temporary support. It would be better if more job opportunities were created for young people like us,” said Shaw, a resident of Kalighat Road in Bhownipore.

Besides Yuva Sathi, Lakshmir Bhandar forms were also being distributed and accepted at the camps, drawing elderly residents in steady numbers.

Ramayan Prasad, 65, who travelled from Radha Bazar to submit a Lakshmir Bhandar form for his 62-year-old wife, said the monthly allowance would ease their medical expenses. “We spend around ₹3,000 every month on medicines as both of us suffer from arthritis and asthma. If we receive the ₹1,500 allowance, it will help us manage part of our medical bills,” he said.

At Ward 73 in Bhowanipore, applicants continued to visit throughout the day to apply for both schemes. Trinamool workers sat with laptops and notebooks, assisting those facing technical glitches or confusion over documentation.