Dust, Jams & Potholes: Students Face Real Test Even Before Exam At Ion Digital Zone In Pune's Ramtekdi (PHOTOS)

Students appearing for various competitive exams including Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) and National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) have to endure tremendous hardship while reaching the Ion Digital Zone in Pune's Ramtekdi for the exam.

The exam centre is located around 1.5km off the Pune-Solapur highway towards the Ramtekdi industrial area. The road to reach the centre passes through the JCC Colony slum, where the roads are narrow and there is always traffic congestion. This adds to the stress of the students even before the exam begins.

Along with this, encroachment on roads, foul stench from a nearby garbage plant, dug-up roads, dust in the air and blatant overcharging by auto drivers, are other serious issues faced by the students.

Speaking to The Free Press Journal, students have voiced their deep frustration over the dismal and unfavourable conditions near the exam centre.

Shrikant Sonawane, a banking aspirant, said, "The smell from the garbage plant is unbearable. It makes you feel sick. The whole road gets fully packed due to encroachment and illegal parking. The civic body and traffic department should take strict action over the disturbance. Many exams take place here as this is the only exam centre in Pune City where the government conducts online exams."

Pranay Kamble, who recently gave the Maharashtra Adivasi Vikas Vibhag Exam, highlighted, "In the morning when I reached the centre, the road was fully packed and I struggled to reach the centre. The route is dug up, leading to traffic jams."

Another student, Ram Kedar Sharma, a native of Beed, said, "Taking advantage of the situation, auto drivers are overcharging. Such menace leads to physical inconvenience and emotional stress."

Meanwhile, Sunil Pandharkar, Senior Police Inspector (Wanawadi traffic division) told this newspaper, "Our team conducts patrolling at the spot when we get calls about traffic jams or notices by the exam centre department. Especially during exams like NEET and JEE, the situation of traffic jams occurs due to more students coming for the exams. However, due to a shortage of staff, we cannot deploy a dedicated team on the spot on a daily basis. However, the patrolling team will conduct regular inspections in the area."

Jayant Bhosekar, Deputy Commissioner, Pune Municipal Corporation, Zone 4, added, "We will definitely look into this matter and encroachment on the road will be removed soon. About the road issue, we will inform the dedicated officer about it."

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