A postal van, which had come to unload packages at Kasarwadi SSC exam centre, blocked the entrance of the school gate on Monday. Manoj More
At 10.30 AM on Monday, while Class Xth students hurried to enter the SSC examination centre at Kasarwadi, a postal van parked at the main gate blocked their entry. The van had come to unload postal articles at the school campus, which also houses the post office. “This is regular here…Even during examinations, the postal department does not plan its deliveries accordingly,” said Rajendra Shelkhe, a local resident.
As students and parents, waiting for the van to leave, crowded the public road outside the campus, indiscriminate parking led to a traffic chaos. Irked by the chaos, students kept shifting from one place to another, risking their lives as the vehicles zoomed past. “Today was the second SSC paper. There was chaos all over the centre. Not only is this dangerous for students, it troubles the local residents too. The public road was blocked for about an hour or two,” said local corporator Shyam Lande. A traffic officer should man the areas surrounding examination centres, he added.
In Khadki, the situation was worse. With at least six of the SSC centres located in Khadki, the area saw huge traffic snarls. Meanwhile, a religious procession added to the road congestion on Monday. “I hardly saw any signal functioning, which compounded the situation. I am sure several students reached their examination centres late,” said Sunil P, a resident of Khadki. He added that it was difficult to understand why the traffic police had not made enough arrangements to keep public roads free of chaos on a day an SSC exam was scheduled.
In Pimpri, the scene was similar. “Even on normal days, the traffic in Pimpri is chaotic. The situation became worse on the day. All public roads were blocked,” said Raja Sawant, a local activist.
Sawant added that whether in Pimpri, Bhosari or Pradhikaran, public roads during SSC exams remained congested. Deputy Commissioner of Police (traffic) Ashok Morale said, “We have already made arrangements for deploying traffic police personnel outside HSC exam centres…I will immediately issue orders to ensure similar arrangement outside SSC centres.”
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