Omicron threat: Kalaburagi and other Districts KPSC aspirants to write exams away from home

KEY STORY

• Even as there is a resurgence of Covid in different parts of the state, close to 60,000 aspirants who have applied for assistant engineers and junior engineer posts in the Public Works Department will have to travel 500 to 700 km from their hometowns to write the Karnataka Public Service Commission exams for two days on December 13 and 14. Most of the aspirants have been assigned examination centres far away from their hometowns.

• This, KPSC officials said, is to avoid malpractice as aspirants will not have any local support. But the candidates are apprehensive that they have to travel long distances at a time when Covid cases are rising. Also, they have to spend a lot more on travel and stay as the exams are on two days. The candidates came to know about their examination centres only on Monday with exams just a week away.

• Shashidhar (name changed)from Kalaburagi, has to come all the way to Bengaluru to write the exam at a centre in Vijayanagar. “I wrote the exams in 2019, but they were scrapped because of legal reasons. I downloaded my hall ticket on Monday night and it mentioned my centre as Bengaluru. I cannot miss the exams as I have been preparing for the last three years. Travelling all the way from Kalaburagi to Bengaluru and staying at a hotel or a room adds to my expense,” he said. Priya (name changed), from Hassan has been assigned a centre at Yelahanka. She has to travel five hours to reach Bengaluru.

• The previous, scrapped exams were held in 2019 during the previous JDS-Congress coalition government. The applications were called for in March to fill 870 engineer posts — 570 assistant engineers and 300 junior engineers. The exams were conducted in June 2019 and the BJP came to power in July.

• The new government withdrew some of the decisions taken by the previous disposition, including the process to appoint PWD engineers. When the results were not announced after a year, some aspirants went to court and the government scrapped the entire process and called for new applications.In the latest order in August, the government invited applications to fill 660 assistant engineer and 330 junior engineer posts. More than 58,000 aspirants have applied.

CONCLUSION

• Suresh (name changed), who works on contract in Tumakuru and has been assigned the exam centre in Kalaburagi, said, “I have to apply for at least four days of leave as I need two days to travel and two days to attend the exams. My office has told me to get a Covid test done after I return.”PWD Minister CC Patil said the exam process does not come under him as it is conducted by KPSC. A KPSC official said, “Locals help candidates and that is why we have adopted this system.”