Annual PU exams postponed as transport corporation diverts buses for PM Modi event in Belagavi

Belagavi DPU postpones PUC-I exams

The DPU in Belagavi postponed the examinations of the examinations Accounts in the Commerce stream, Mathematics in the Science stream, and Education in the Arts stream.

The exams for these three subjects were scheduled on Monday. Now, the exams have been postponed to 6 March.

This will affect around 10,000-12,000 students in various disciplines across the district.

In a letter addressed to all the principals of the PU Colleges, Belagavi DDPU stated, “In the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Belagavi City on Monday, the PUC-I students appearing for annual examinations might face many hurdles to reach the colleges. So, the examinations scheduled on 27 February 2023 have been postponed.”

ಪ್ರಧಾನಿ ಮೋದಿಯವರ “ರೋಡ್ ಶೋ”ಕಿಗಾಗಿ ಪ್ರಥಮ ಪಿಯುಸಿ ಪರೀಕ್ಷೆಯನ್ನೇ ಮುಂದೂಡಿ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿಗಳ ಭವಿಷ್ಯದ ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಚೆಲ್ಲಾಟ ಆಡುತ್ತಿದೆ ಸರ್ಕಾರ.

ಚುನಾವಣೆ ಪ್ರಚಾರಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಬಿಜೆಪಿ ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಇಷ್ಟು ಕೀಳು ಹಂತಕ್ಕೆ ಇಳಿಯಬಾರದಿತ್ತು.

ಪರೀಕ್ಷೆಗಳನ್ನೇ ನಿಲ್ಲಿಸಿ ‘ಪರೀಕ್ಷಾ ಪೇ ಚರ್ಚಾ’ ಎನ್ನುವ ಪ್ರಧಾನಿಯವರದ್ದು ಡೋಂಗಿತನವಲ್ಲದೆ ಇನ್ನೇನು? pic.twitter.com/BAr0Vn8VCE

— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) February 26, 2023

“This order is applicable to all the government, aided and private colleges of the district. The colleges have to convey the same to all the students,” read a letter from the DPU in Belagavi, issued on Saturday.

Belagavi DPU Deputy Director MM Kambale told South First: “We did not postpone the annual examinations for first-year PU students only because of the prime minister’s visit. The majority of the PU students in the district come to their examination venues from rural areas via state-run buses. The North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) has cancelled around 350 bus services to the rural areas on Monday.”

This, he explained, would affect many rural students trying to reach the examination hall in time. “There are also chances that many students might fail to turn up for the exams because of the non-availability of buses. This is a district-level examination,” said Kambale.

Also read: Karnataka University makes students vacate hostel for fest guests

“The decision has been taken only after taking all the stakeholders into confidence. I have not been pressured by the government to postpone the examinations. This decision has been taken for the well-being of the students,” said Kambale.

However, the Shivamogga district has not postponed any PUC examinations scheduled on 27 February.

“The exams are being conducted as per schedule. We have not postponed any examination for the first-year PU students,” Shivamogga DDPU Krishnappa told South First.

NWKRTC cancels bus services in rural areas

In order to bring more crowds to the prime minister’s event at Belagavi City, the NWKRTC — one of the state transport corporations — has temporarily suspended the bus services to many rural areas in the Belagavi district on Monday.

“The NWKRTC is providing around 350 bus services to prime minister’s event on a contract basis on Monday. The bus operations from Belagavi, Bailhongal, Ramdurga, and Khanapur have been temporarily suspended on 27 February,” said the Belagavi division of the NWKRTC in a statement.

The bus services have been suspended to at least 40 villages and reduced in Vijayapura, Dharwad, and Hubballi.

“Every day a greater number of buses are being operated in those routes where bus services have been suspended on Monday. We will ensure that minimum buses are operated on all these routes without affecting the passengers. The passengers should commute with the available buses on these routes,” the NWKRTC stated in a statement.

NWKRTC Managing Director Bharat S told South First: “On the request submitted by the district administration, we have diverted the buses to the Prime Minister’s event. We have not suspended the bus services completely. The buses are being operated on all the routes.”

He added: “I have no idea about the DPU postponing the annual examinations because of the suspension of bus services. I will look into the matter.”

PM Modi’s visit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a one-day visit to the poll-bound Karnataka on Monday.

He will first arrive in Shivamogga to inaugurate the newly developed greenfield airport and also inaugurate and lay the foundation stones for projects worth ₹3,600 crore.

The new airport is developed at a cost of around Rs 450 crore.

The Passenger Terminal Building of the airport can handle 300 passengers per hour.

The airport is expected to improve connectivity and accessibility of Shivamogga and other neighbouring areas in the Malnad region.

ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯ ಜನರ ಅಪೇಕ್ಷೆಯಂತೆ ಶಿವಮೊಗ್ಗದ ಸೋಗಾನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಅತ್ಯುತ್ತಮವಾಗಿ ನಿರ್ಮಾಣಗೊಂಡು ಉದ್ಘಾಟನೆಗೆ ಸಿದ್ಧವಾಗಿರುವ ನೂತನ ವಿಮಾನ ನಿಲ್ದಾಣದ ಕಾಮಗಾರಿ ಮತ್ತಿತರ ಸಿದ್ಧತೆಗಳನ್ನು ಇಂದು ಪರಿಶೀಲಿಸಲಾಯಿತು. pic.twitter.com/5ze32NBMSO

— B.S.Yediyurappa (@BSYBJP) February 25, 2023

The Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone for two railway projects in Shivamogga.

This includes the new Shivamogga-Shikaripura-Ranebennur railway line and the Koteganguru railway coach depot. He will lay the foundation stone for multiple road development projects worth ₹215 crore.

During the visit, the prime minister will also inaugurate and lay the foundation stones of multi-village schemes worth more than ₹950 crore under the Jal Jeevan Mission.

The four schemes will provide functional household tap water connections, and are expected to benefit a total of more than 4.4 lakh people.

The prime minister will also inaugurate 44 Smart City Projects worth more than ₹895 crore in Shivamogga city.

The projects include eight smart road packages of 110 km length, an integrated command-and-control centre, heritage projects like turning Shivappa Naik Palace into an interactive museum, and other works.

In the afternoon, Modi will fly to Belagavi City. He will dedicate the redeveloped Belagavi Railway Station building to the nation.

The railway station has been redeveloped at an estimated cost of ₹190 crore to provide world-class amenities to the passengers.

Also read: Karnataka trip of PM Modi gets more political

Modi is also expected to release the 13th instalment of about ₹16,000 crore under the PM-KISAN scheme, which should benefit around 8 crore farmers in Belagavi.

He will also lay the foundation stone and dedicate to the nation multiple development projects worth more than ₹2,700 crore at Belagavi.

Another railway project that will be dedicated to the nation by the prime minister is the rail-line-doubling project in the Londa-Belagavi-Ghataprabha section at Belagavi.

This project, developed at a cost of about ₹930 crore, is expected to enhance the capacity along the busy Mumbai-Pune-Hubballi-Bengaluru railway line, leading to the promotion of trade, commerce, and economic activities in the region.

(With inputs from PTI)