India / Odisha CM speaks to PM over phone, seeks postponement of NEET, JEE

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik dialled Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday requesting him to postpone National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) 2020 [NEET] and Joint Entrance Examination Main [JEE] examinations in the view of COVID-19 pandemic and flood in the state.

"Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik spoke to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi over the telephone this morning and requested him for postponement of NEET and JEE in view of COVID situation and also as many parts of our state are in the grip of the flood. So a student may face difficulties in appearing in the exam," a statement from Odisha CMO read.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) is scheduled to conduct the JEE (Main) on September 1-6 and NEET on September 13.

Odisha Chief Minister had on Tuesday urged Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal to postpone NEET 2020 and JEE Main 2020 due to outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.

He also informed the Union Education Minister that transportation in Odisha has been disrupted because of the lockdown enforced by many district administrations in an attempt to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Reiterating the request for postponing the exams, Patnaik added, "Whenever NTA holds these tests, it may be directed to open centres in all the 30 districts of the State so that students have to travel maximum 2-3 hours to reach the test centres and go back home the same day and thus ensure maximum participation of the students in these tests."

Heavy rainfall in many parts of Odisha resulted in a flood-like situation. Moreover, the water-level of the Baitarani River has also risen amid incessant rains.

People in Bhadrak were seen wading through waist-deep water in the flooded areas.

The situation is such that the villagers of Hasnabad were seen using rubber tubes to get around from one place to another.

According to the Union Health Ministry, Odisha at present has 24,348 active cases of COVID-19. Also, a total of 62813 have been cured and 441 have died after contracting the infection.