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 NEET examination will be held in the state, an official said on Saturday.

The notification lifting the shutdown in seven cities was issued after Chief Secretary A K Tripathy on Friday announced that the state government will provide free transport and accommodation to students appearing in the JEE (Mains) and NEET.

The Special Relief Commissioners (SRC) office has released a set of guidelines for the smooth conduct of the examination. "No lockdown or shutdown will be in force in the seven examination cities from August 30-September 7 (JEE) and from September 9-14 (NEET)," the notification said.

At present bi-weekly shutdown is in force in four districts Cuttack, Khurdha, Ganjam and Gajapati - and in Rourkela town to stem the spread of COVID-19 cases.

The notification said all candidates and their guardian, as well as examination personnel, are allowed to travel from their place of stay to the examination cities/examination centres either in their personal vehicles or hired or public vehicle.

Copy of the candidates admit card including soft copies or any other document held by the candidates and any document held by the examination personnel and staff/ representatives of service providers in support of their deployment shall be considered as valid movement passes throughout the state.

SRC P K Jena also asked the examination organisers to ensure all safety protocols relating to COVID-19. Physical distancing, mask-wearing, no spitting in a public place, personal hygiene and sanitation, should be duly maintained inside the centre. The district authority will ensure the same outside the examination centres, he said.

The chief secretary said that as many as 37,000 candidates are likely to appear in the examination in 26 centres spread across seven different towns including Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. The state government will provide free transport and accommodation arrangement for candidates and their guardians.

The JEE examination will be held between September 1 and 6.

The candidates should register for availing the state government's free transport and accommodation facility. The state government will provide buses to help candidates to travel from their home town to the examination centres, he said.