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Day 2 of PET exam in Uttar Pradesh: Transport chaos tests candidates again
In Lucknow, the Charbagh railway station and trains were overcrowded with candidates despite the railways operating several special trains.
Like the first day of the Preliminary Eligibility Test (PET) 2022 of the Uttar Pradesh Subordinate Services Selection Commission exam on Saturday, chaotic scenes were seen outside the railway and bus stations in the state capital and Gorakhpur on Sunday.
Many students had missed their exam on the first day on Saturday due to a lack of public transportation.
In Lucknow, the Charbagh railway station and trains were overcrowded with candidates despite the railways operating several special trains.
The reserved coaches resembled the unreserved ones. Even the luggage vans were full. Candidates were seen running for a train that was already in motion at Lucknow’s Charbagh railway station in several viral videos on social media.
“There was no space to rest our feet inside the train. I had to sit inside the toilet and later was hanging onto the door, putting my life at risk,” said Rajnish Kumra, 23, a candidate who came from the interiors of Barabanki to appear for the second shift of PET at a centre in Lucknow.
Another candidate Inderjeet Kumar, 25, boarded a train on Saturday evening from Ambedkar Nagar to reach Lucknow, hoping to avoid the Sunday rush. “I reached Lucknow at midnight on Saturday and had to spend the entire night on the platform. I did not want to miss my paper so I decided to come a night earlier, but the rush was so much that I have decided to go back by bus,” he added.
Rupesh Kumar, who travelled from Amethi, left home early in the morning. “But the crowd was unexpected even at 5 am,” he said.
Buses, too, were overcrowded, complained several students who had gathered to appear for PET at the Govt. Jubilee Inter College opposite the Lucknow city station on Sunday.
“The buses were overcrowded like the trains and (we) got no seat despite paying ₹400,” said Anil Kumar, 22, who travelled from Gadhauli, Ayodhya. Another candidate Divyanshu Singh drove his motorcycle from Barabanki.
“We went to the station but stepped back on seeing the condition there. It wasn’t safe for women to travel that way. The bus was no different, ‘’ said a group of women from Gonda, Azamgarh and Ambedkar Nagar.
“I had booked a ticket 10 days in advance, but it was useless because the situation in the reserved coaches was the same as in the unreserved coaches,” Ankita Verma, who had come from Ayodhya district, said.
Several groups of candidates from the same districts were seen booking vehicles.
“It has cost us twice as much, but we can’t afford to miss the exam,” said a group of five students from Balrampur.
Several students reached the exam centres late due to traffic congestion and delayed trains. After several requests, the guards allowed the candidates to enter the premises.
In Gorakhpur, chaotic scenes were witnessed at railway and bus stations as the candidates tried to return home after the exam.
In four shifts of the exam over two days, 1,30,752 aspirants appeared at 67 centres in Gorakhpur district. On Sunday alone, 65,000 candidates took the exam under tight security.
Priyanka of Belthara Road and Punam Pandey of Varanasi said though they had reserved seats, they failed to board their train as candidates who captured the compartment locked the door. Railway officials ran special trains from Varanasi to Gorakhpur and roadways deployed 240 extra buses.
