Aspirants complain of being allotted far-off exam centres

ROHTAK: After the Haryana staff selection commission (HSSC) released admit cards for the female police constable written exam, the aspirants have complained of being allotted far-off exam centres.

The written exam for female constables is scheduled on September 18 (evening shift) and in both shifts the next day.

Pooja Kumari, of Bhiwani, said her exam centre has been allocated in Yamunanagar, which is nearly 290km from her village.

“I don’t know why the HSSC has allocated an exam centre far away. If I book a car, it will cost me Rs 6,000 apart from food expenses. If the government cannot allocate exam centres in the neighbour districts, it should at least run buses for students,” she said. “Most of the buses will be overcrowded on September 18 and it will be difficult for us to write the paper after covering such a long distance,” she added.

Another aspirant Kavita Sheoran, of Charkhi Dadri, said she will have to travel for at least five to six hours to sit in her constable exam on September 19 in Ambala.

The Haryana government has faced criticism from all quarters after the Haryana male constable written exam paper got leaked last month, forcing the HSSC to cancel the exam.

Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) leader and Haryana deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala had announced in a rally in Rohtak in the run up to the 2019 assembly polls that the exam centres will be allocated to students in state within a radius of 50-60km from their native place, if his party is voted to power.

INLD general secretary Abhay Chautala and Tosham MLA Kiran Choudhry of the Congress slammed the government for allocating far away exam centres to women constable aspirants.

“The JJP made hollow promises during the 2019 assembly polls that the exam centres will be allocated in nearby areas. The government talks about empowering girls ad on the other hand, it forces girls to travel 300km to write the exam. Instead of taking strict action against the paper leak mafia, the government has allocated far away exam centres,” Kiran added.

HSSC chairman Bhopal Singh said they have randomly picked the roll numbers and allocated exam centres. “This was done to stop cheating. We have not allocated the exam centres to aspirants in nearby areas. The board has also changed the duties of many officials to ensure free and fair exams,” he added.