Aspirants who reached Bareilly for the examination said centres allotted 300 to 500 km away from their residences had caused significant physical exhaustion, financial hardship and mental stress, adversely affecting their preparations. PET is the qualifying examination for recruitment to several Group C government posts in Uttar Pradesh.
Sunil Parashari, an MBA student from Barabanki, questioned the rationale behind sending candidates so far away for recruitment examinations.
"During elections, the government arranges polling booths close to voters' homes, but for recruitment examinations, young people are sent 400 to 500 km away," he said.
Ashish from Azamgarh said he had earlier faced a similar problem during the Railway Junior Engineer examination, when his centre was allotted in Agra, nearly 500 km from his residence. He could not reach the examination venue in time and missed the test.
"Excessive distance from centres and the difficulties involved in travelling there should not deprive candidates of the opportunity to appear in examinations," he said.
Nikhil Pratap Singh from Gorakhpur urged the government not to test the patience of young aspirants by subjecting them to such difficulties.
"The government should not test the endurance of young people or harass them in this manner. Such anger among youth has been witnessed earlier in Delhi and in Nepal. The system needs to be improved without delay," he said.
Pushpa Raje from Hardoi, who was resting on the floor of Bareilly Junction railway station, demanded that examination centres be allotted in candidates' home districts or neighbouring districts.
She said long-distance travel was causing considerable financial losses to candidates from poor and middle-class families and urged examination-conducting agencies to take these practical difficulties seriously.
Anupam Shukla from Sultanpur said he had travelled nearly 450 km to reach Bareilly. He added that such exhausting journeys also adversely affected candidates' studies.
Madhu Shivhare from Delhi, who has completed a nursing course but remains unemployed, said her PET examination centre had been allotted in Budaun. After struggling to travel aboard overcrowded trains, she reached Bareilly and had to spend the night on the floor of the railway station before proceeding to her examination centre.
"I have now lost all hope in the government," she said.
Pradeep Kumar, a mechanical engineering student from Rae Bareli, also expressed frustration over the allocation of his centre for the earlier Railway Junior Engineer examination in Agra. He said he, too, had been unable to appear for the test because of the excessive distance.
Candidates also questioned claims of special train arrangements during examinations, saying overcrowding continued to make travel difficult.
Manoj Kumar from Ayodhya said trains were so crowded that there was hardly any space to stand. Candidates travelling on general tickets were often forced to struggle for space in sleeper and AC coaches, he said.
With travel expenses adding to their financial burden, many candidates said staying in hotels or lodges was beyond their means. Consequently, they were forced to spend nights on railway station floors before travelling to their examination centres.
Meanwhile, the Bareilly administration said arrangements had been made for the peaceful and fair conduct of the examination.
Nodal officer and Additional District Magistrate (City) Avinash Tripathi said 62,024 candidates were registered to appear at 23 examination centres in Bareilly.
"Elaborate security arrangements have been made at all examination centres to ensure that the examination is conducted in a transparent, peaceful and malpractice-free manner," he said.
The difficulties faced by candidates travelling long distances to appear for the PET have brought the issue of examination centre allocation into focus, with aspirants demanding arrangements that would allow them to reach examination venues without excessive travel, financial hardship or exhaustion.
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