Manipur exam deferred, outstation candidates seek travel expenses

IMPHAL: Upset with the postponing of Manipur Civil Services Combined Competitive (Preliminary) Examination, MCSCCE (Prelims) 2019, a group of candidates studying outside the state have appealed to chief minister N Biren Singh to compensate their travel expenses.
The examination was scheduled to be conducted on May 12 by the Manipur Public Service Commission (MPSC) but it was postponed indefinitely following an order passed by the Manipur High Court two days ahead of the schedule.The court put on hold the examination as the Commission did not take timely steps to appoint its full-fledged controller of examinations in accordance with an earlier order passed by the same court on February 28, 2017.
A memorandum submitted to the CM by the students also warned of filing a PIL in the high court if the travel amount they incurred in coming to Imphal for appearing in the examination is not compensated by the state government, said one of the students on Monday.
"We politely submit that if the issue of compensation/reimbursement is not resolved favourably, we intend to knock on the door of the high court by filing a PIL against the MPSC in this regard so as to get the compensation/ reimbursement," said the memo.
"As the examination got postponed because of the non compliance of the direction of the high court "Why we shouldn't be compensated? Why shouldn't we demand to fix the accountability? How long should we remain indifferent, numb and helpless?" they questioned. They also mentioned the financial hardships subjected to them by the earlier postponements / cancellation/ re-examination of the state civil service examinations in 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.
The total expenditure incurred on air/train tickets by the candidates residing outside the state would be substantially high, considering that a candidate spends around Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 on air tickets on an average.