No Shutdown in 7 Cities Where JEE & NEET Examination Will Be Held: Odisha Govt

The Odisha government has lifted shutdown in seven cities where the JEE and NEETexamination will be held in the state, an official said on Saturday.

The notification lifting the shutdown in seven citieswas issued after Chief Secretary A K Tripathy on Fridayannounced that the state government will provide freetransport and accommodation to students appearing in the JEE(Mains) and NEET.

The Special Relief Commissioners (SRC) office hasreleased a set of guidelines for the smooth conduct of theexamination. "No lockdown or shutdown will be in force in theseven examination cities from August 30-September 7 (JEE) andfrom September 9-14 (NEET)," the notification said. At present bi-weekly shutdown is in force in fourdistricts Cuttack, Khurdha, Ganjam and Gajapati – and inRourkela town to stem the spread of COVID-19 cases.

The notification said all candidates and their guardian, as well as examination personnel, are allowed totravel from their place of stay to the examinationcities/examination centres either in their personal vehiclesor hired or public vehicle. Copy of the candidates admit card including softcopies or any other document held by the candidates and anydocument held by the examination personnel and staff/representatives of service providers in support of theirdeployment shall be considered as valid movement passesthroughout the state.

SRC P K Jena also asked the examination organisers to ensure all safety protocols relating to COVID-19. Physicaldistancing, mask-wearing, no spitting in a public place,personal hygiene and sanitation, should be duly maintainedinside the centre.

The district authority will ensure the sameoutside the examination centres, he said. The chief secretary said that as many as 37,000candidates are likely to appear in the eamination in 26 centres spread across seven different towns includingBhubaneswar and Cuttack. The state government will providefree transport and accommodation arrangement for candidatesand their guardians.

The JEE examination will be held between September 1and 6. The candidates should register for availing the stategovernment's free transport and accommodation facility. Thestate government will provide buses to help candidates totravel from their home town to the examination centres, hesaid.