After much planning and re-planning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s roadshow in Bengaluru on Sunday (May 7) is expected to end by 11.30 a.m., as it is the day of National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) examinations.
Apart from the Prime Minister’s, there are also a few other rallies planned by political parties ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections. The restrictions on traffic and other movements on the day have now added additional stress to the minds of the students taking the examination as well as their parents.
Distance an issue
“I stay in J.P. Nagar and my examination centre is the Army Public School near Mehkri Circle. It is going to take me at least an hour to reach the centre from my house. Earlier, I had planned to reach the centre an hour prior to the examination, but now, I have changed my plans. I would like to reach the centre around two or two and a half hours early to avoid hitting any traffic roadblocks,” said Vijayalakshmi J.P, a student who is writing NEET on Sunday.
Similarly, Sarah Siddiqa, another student from J.P. Nagar, has also had to change her travel plans due to the political rallies. “My examination centre is in Sunkadakatte, and it is almost an hour away from my house. The gates close at 1.30 p.m. at the examination centre, and I had planned to leave home by 12.30 p.m. However, now as a precautionary step, I will leave home by 11.30 a.m. itself to reach there on time,” she said. She further added that she has decided against relying on public transport and will have her father will drop her to the centre.”
Not just students but parents are also anxious about their children reaching the centre on time. “It is definitely a stressor now. More than me, my parents are now very worried, and we are figuring out plans to reach there early,” Vijayalakshmi said.
Letters to EC, BBMP
Several educational associations like All India Democratic Students’ Organisation and People’s Alliance for Fundamental Right to Education (PAFRE) wrote letters to the Election Commission and Chief Commissioner of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike on Friday asking them to ensure that students face no inconvenience while writing their examinations, for which they have prepared from many months.
In a letter written to the Election Commission of India, Shashi Kumar D., convenor of Karnataka Private School Managements, Teaching and Non-Teaching Staff Co-ordination Committee, said, “Due to your postponement of Saturday’s rally to Sunday of a national party, you are causing hardship and fear psychosis among students as there will be high security due to the Prime Minister’s presence. Due to this, most roads have traffic restrictions, and your office has not looked at how many NEET exam centre premises come under these roads. Hence, we request your office to look into issues so that there are no restrictions in and around the city which causes hardship and fear to reach exam centres.”
