BENGALURU: The atmosphere in and around Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) office at Malleswaram was chaotic on Sunday, as the mop-up round of offline allotment towards MBBS seats, which were left vacant after the second allotment, reached its final day.
The delay in the process, the tension to get a demand draft on a Sunday and the heavy showers added to the unpleasant experiences of the aspirants.
The KEA, had announced the schedule for the mop-up round on Thursday with instructions to the candidates to bring along with them multiple Demand Drafts (DDs) for fee payment. However, the fact that these dates coincided with bank holidays made it impossible to secure DDs.
Students and parents staged a protest against this at the KEA office on Saturday following which the authorities arranged for counters from private banks to open at the venue. DDs from co-operative societies and card payment were also accepted.
However problems continued on Sunday as well due to poor dissemination of information to the crowd waiting outside.
“We were unaware of the fact that arrangements were made at the office itself and hence had to go till Basavangudi as per the notices stuck on walls outside the venue,” said Radhamma, a parent.
The 3-4 hour delay in the process on Sunday resulted in thousands waiting outside and around the office contributing to slow moving traffic at Malleswaram and Sankey Tank as well.
As heavy showers began to pour, the crowd started moving into the pavilion next to the authority which was already full, leading to more chaos.
“The officials should have made arrangements foreseeing such a situation. Things would have been better if people were allowed into the office campus at least,” said a candidate hailing from Tumkur.
At the same time, KEA officials had a tough time handling the crowd both in and around the office.
“We had made suitable arrangements at the office for fee payment on Saturday itself. Candidates were given clear instructions along with the seat matrix published providing a clearer picture of whether they stood a chance to get a seat in accordance to their ranks,” said a KEA official.
“The offline mop-up allotment for the remaining dental seats in the state will take place from 9 am on Monday according to the schedule posted on the website,” the official added.
