Hundreds of aspirants for the post of Assistant Engineer in the Public Works Department (PWD) could not reach Kalaburagi on December 14 on time to appear for the written examination because the Hassan-Solapur Express was delayed by over five hours.
Enraged aspirants, around 800 of them, got down at Raichur station and sat on the tracks in protest against the railway department and demanded rescheduling of the examination by the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC).
The train had left Hassan at 4 p.m. and Yeshwantpur Junction at 8.50 p.m. on December 13, and was scheduled to arrive in Kalaburagi at 6 a.m. on December 14. It got delayed for technical reasons, including track doubling work in Hindupur. Railway sources said that the movement of several trains had been disrupted for the same reason.
It is learnt that examinations were scheduled in Kalaburagi for candidates from south Karnataka and in Bengaluru for candidates from north Karnataka to avoid possible malpractice. Hundreds of candidates from Mysuru, Chikkaballapura, Kolar, Bengaluru and other south Karnataka districts had taken the Hassan-Solapur Express to reach Kalaburagi.
Raichur police rushed to the spot to persuade the protesting candidates to go to Kalaburagi and place their grievances before the KPSC authorities. However, the candidates refused to vacate the railway tracks. They withdrew the agitation only after receiving a letter from the Secretary of KPSC assuring an ‘appropriate decision pertaining to only these candidates’. The train left Raichur station around 11.30 a.m. with the candidates.
Arrangements were made at Kalaburagi railway station to receive the candidates and take them to examination centres in buses.
The letter from the KPSC read: “... the Commission had published the hall tickets more than a week ago. The candidates were clearly advised to see the examination centres a day before. Yet, they had made travel arrangements in such a way that they would reach the centres only on the day of examination.” The letter notified the candidates to attend the second paper scheduled later in the day.
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson Priyank Kharge took to Twitter and demanded postponement of the examinations. “I have already talked to the officers concerned and they had responded positively... The future of over 2,000 candidates is in doldrums... the government should take it seriously and allow the candidates to write the examination,” he tweeted.
One more opportunity
The State Government decided to provide one more opportunity for the candidates who could not write the competitive examinations.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the Legislative Assembly on December 14, JD(S) member K. M. Shivaline Gowda and Congress member Priyank Kharge expressed concern about several candidates missing an opportunity to appear for the written examinations.
They urged the government to provide one more opportunity for the candidates to appear for the written examinations.
In response, Law Minister J.C. Madhuswamy said they would be given an opportunity to write the exams by afternoon while those missing out on the afternoon exams too would be provided another opportunity to appear for the exams.
