SFI urges Bengal to withdraw September 12 lockdown for NEET candidates' benefit

The SFI, the students' wing of the CPI(M), has urged the West Bengal government to withdraw the state-wide lockdown on September 12 for the benefit of the NEET candidates who will sit for the examination on the next day.

The West Bengal government has declared lockdown in the state on September 7, 11 and 12.

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The lockdown will inconvenience a large number of National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) candidates in reaching their exam centres from far-flung areas on September 13, Students' Federation of India (SFI) state committee president Pratik ur Rahman said in a statement on Wednesday.

"We request the state government to withdraw the September 12 lockdown as the candidates are already faced with a lot of stress due to the pandemic situation. The lockdown will further aggravate their woes as the number of vehicles will be fewer on roads," it said.

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The SFI said if the authorities cannot withdraw the September 12 lockdown, they should at least arrange special trains for the candidates on the exam date.

A large number of candidates had faced difficulty in reaching the exam centres during the JEE (Main) examination held from September 1-6.