Darjeeling, Aug. 9: The West Bengal
Police Recruitment Board has changed the centres for a written test for
sub-inspector posts from Darjeeling to Siliguri, putting 4,000 hill
candidates in a fix as they have no way of reaching the plains on August
18 if the shutdown continues.
The notice that mentioned the
change in the examination centres didn’t cite the reason for the shift.
However, it’s believed that the indefinite shutdown being enforced by
the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha in the hills was the reason for the transfer
of the exam centres.
According to the
notice issued by the chairman of the recruitment board, 895 candidates
who were to sit for the written examination at Southfield College and
Darjeeling Government College on August 18 will now have to appear for
the test at Margaret English School, Pradhanagar, Siliguri.
Delhi Public
School, Dagapur, Siliguri, will be the exam centre for another set of
3,000 hill applicants, among them 1,586 women. Their earlier venues were
Darjeeling Government College, St. Robert’s High School, R.K.S.P. Boys’
High School, St. Teresa’s Girls’ Higher Secondary School, Nepali Girls’
Higher Secondary School and St. Joseph’s College in Darjeeling.
The notice said
that the recruitment board “will not be responsible for any postal
delay” in delivering admit cards to the candidates.
The notice said
applicants who didn’t receive the admit cards by August 10 could
download copies of it from the West Bengal Police website (policewb.gov.in) from August 11. But many applicants said that those who lived in villages would not get access to Internet cafes.
The notice has
also directed the superintendent of police, Darjeeling, “to send a soft
copy of the admit card data provided to him to the commissioner of
police, Siliguri, so that the admit cards could also be issued from the
office of the commissionerate in Siliguri to the candidates on urgent
basis”.
Sources said the
admit cards couldn’t be distributed to all the 3,895 candidates because
post offices were shut in the indefinite strike that entered its seventh
day today.
Many of the
candidates mentioned conveyance problem if by August 18 the strike was
not lifted. “It will be difficult for most of the students to go down to
Siliguri if the indefinite strike continues. Even though the Morcha has
exempted exams from the ambit of the strike, vehicles will refuse to go
down to Siliguri,” said a candidate.
Many were of the
opinion that if the police managed to conduct the examinations in
Darjeeling, the candidates in the hills would have to travel less to
reach the exam centres compared to the distance they needed to cover to
make it to Siliguri.
Another candidate
said: “At least some candidates in and around Darjeeling could sit for
the PSC examination held on Sunday. Most of them had walked to the exam
centres. However, with the police recruitment exam venues being shifted
to Siliguri, even the possibility of walking can be ruled out now.”
On Sunday, during
the second day of the indefinite strike, the Public Service Commission
had conducted examinations for various posts at St. Teresa’s School, St.
Robert’s High School and Nepali Girls’ Higher Secondary School in
Darjeeling. However, only 749 candidates of a total of 2,696 could take
the exam.
A Darjeeling
resident said: “On one hand, the state government talks about bringing
normalcy to the hills. But on the other hand, the West Bengal Police
Recruitment Board cannot even conduct an examination in the hills.”
Officials at the recruitment board in Calcutta could not be contacted
today.
The Telegraph
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