GUWAHATI: Manipur govt on Tuesday told the Delhi high court that in view of the prevailing
security situation
in the state,
UPSC civil services
preliminary examination centres for candidates from hill districts Churachandpur and Kangpokpi should be held outside the state, as was done last year.
The counsel of Manipur govt told the court that the state’s chief secretary has said state govt is ready to provide financial help to the UPSC aspirants so that they can travel to exam centres outside Manipur.
The court was hearing a plea on setting up of additional examination centres for civil services and Indian Forest Service aspirants.
The Bench headed by acting Chief Justice Manmohan observed that like the previous year, the examinations may be held outside Manipur. He asked the UPSC counsel to take instructions in this regard.
Gogou Singson, an UPSC aspirant from Motbung in Kangpokpi district, said, “Decisions made by the state government on exam centers for exams like civil services, SSC, banking and CUET should prioritize the hill students living outside Imphal. Most of the exam centres are located in Imphal and we, the Kuki-Zo students, do not have access to Imphal exam centers anymore as we can not go there for safety reasons.”
“We are left with no choice but compelled to travel to neighbouring states just to give an exam. So we’ve already been affected since the beginning of the ongoing conflict and the recent stance of Manipur govt before the court won’t help us anyway,” Gogou said.
Last week, the petitioner for Zomi Students Federation, Delhi, had moved the court, seeking examination centres in Churachandpur and Kangpokpi — two hill districts of the state.
B ut the legal counsel of Manipur govt said the state chief secretary informed him in a letter that the state government was of the opinion that in view of current situation in Manipur and to maintain the sanctity of the examination, having examination centres in Churachandpur and Kangpokpi may not be appropriate.
“It is the considered opinion of the State Government that in the given situation and to maintain the sanctity of the examination, it may not be appropriate to provide centers at Churachandpur and Kangpokpi districts for UPSC civil services examinations,” read the letter.
“However, in the interest of the students from Churachandpur and Kangpokpi districts who are taking the CSE 2024 and may not find it feasible to travel to Imphal centre to write the examination, they may be considered for allotment at the nearest centres outside the state of Manipur as done in 2023,” it stated.
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