The Indian Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) issued a notification relating to why the candidates who have applied for Assistant Loco Pilot (ALP) and Technician posts have got the exam centres outside their state. They justified through an infographic which is available online on the official website; rrbajmer.gov.in. At the beginning of this week, it came into notice that almost all the candidates will have to travel nearby states to write the Group C, D examinations scheduled to be held on August 9. Following this, the Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav wrote to the Railway Minister Piyush Goyal asking him to reconsider the computer-based rail exam process and allot centres to poor candidates from Bihar near their hometowns.

The recent notification may have come after similar debates and dissatisfaction raised by the RRB aspirants. In the infographic, it is mentioned that this year, more than 47 lakh candidates have applied for the ALP and technician posts for 2018 examination. Out of the total number, 34 lakh candidates have been allotted centres within 200 km. On the other hand, 99 per cent of the total women and PwD candidates are allocated centres within 200 km too. In total, 40 lakh candidates have been assigned centres in 500 km. This means that the remaining six lakhs have been allotted centres 200-500 km away from their states. And 7 lakh candidates will travel farther than 500 km from their state to write the examination.

However, it appears that the notification lacks the detailed justification that the recruitment board is intending to explain. In an earlier report, the Railway Ministry said it was ‘inevitable’ to assign all the candidates a centre close to their cities. As RRB intimated the examination centres, it is expected that the admit cards for the exam will be released soon.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 02, 2018 11:07 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).