The notification of lifting shutdown in seven cities was issued after Chief Secretary A K Tripathy announced on Friday that the state government will provide free transportation and accommodation for students appearing in JEE (Mains) and NEET.
The Odisha government has lifted the shutdown in seven cities where the JEE and NEET exams will be held in the state, an official said on Saturday.
The notification of the shutdown in seven cities was issued after Chief Secretary A K Tripathy announced on Friday that the state government will provide free transportation and accommodation for students appearing in JEE (Mains) and NEET.
As per the direction of Hon'ble CM, State Govt will provide free transport & accommodation facility to the #JEEMain & #NEET exam candidates. Transport facilities from Dist HQs to Exam Centre will be provided free of cost. Candidates are requested to contact the Nodal Officers. pic.twitter.com/OVlSp4p9qQ
— I & PR Department, Odisha (@IPR_Odisha) August 28, 2020
The Office of the Special Relief Commissioners (SRC) has issued a set of guidelines for the smooth conduct of the examination.
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"No lock-up or shut-down will take place in the seven examination cities from August 30, 2020 to September 7, 2020 for JEE Main and from September 9 to14, 2020 (NEET)," said the notification.
At present, a bi-weekly shutdown is in force in four districts of Cuttack, Khurdha, Ganjam and Gajapati-and in Rourkela City to stem the spread of COVID-19 cases.
The notification stated that all candidates and their guardians, as well as the examination staff, are allowed to travel from their place of residence to the examination cities/examination centres either in their personal vehicles or in a hired or public vehicle.
Copy of the candidate's admission card, including soft copies or any other document held by the candidate and any document held by the examination staff and the staff/representatives of the service providers in support of their deployment, shall be considered as valid movement passes throughout the state.
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SRC P K Jena also asked the examination organisers to ensure all safety protocols relating to COVID-19. Physical distance, mask-wearing, no spitting in public places, personal hygiene and sanitation should be properly maintained inside the centre. The district authority will ensure the same outside of the examination centres, he said.
The Chief Secretary said that as many as 37,000 candidates are likely to appear in 26 centres across seven different cities, including Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.
The state government will provide free transportation and accommodation for candidates and their guardians. The JEE examination will take place between September 01-06, 2020.
Applicants should register to use the free transportation and accommodation facilities of the state government. The state government will provide buses to help candidates travel to the examination centres from their hometown, he said.
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