CBSE Class XII students caught in a traffic snarl on their way to an exam centre in Patna on Tuesday. Picture by J Prakash

Patna, March 1: The CBSE Class XII physics paper was straight, not the path to exam halls. A bridge under construction at Nahar on Bailey Road today compelled hundreds of examinees take a detour to their examination centres on the opening day.

Traffic standstill, they reached their exam centres way behind schedule. Most of the examination centres of CBSE Class XII board exams are near Bailey Road.

On several roads, students could not even walk. Many of them took lanes. By the time they reached, they were late — some by 30 minutes, a few by an hour or more.

The jam started near Jagdev Path More and continued till Ramkrishna Nagar Thana. It started before 9am and was cleared only after 11.30.

Nikhil Chandra, an examinee, said: “I was late and could not complete my paper. I was on a two-wheeler with my father. We tried many lanes, but could not reach before 10.30am.”

The examinees were supposed to enter the examination hall by 10am. The question paper was handed over to students at 10.15. The time to start writing the three-hour paper was 10.30am.

Priyanka, another student, said: “I had to leave around 20 marks, thanks to the road jam. I can never forget the day. The paper was not tough and I had prepared well but the jam ruined it completely.”

Deepak Khetrapal, father of a Class XII student, said: “My son and I reached his exam centre at 10.30am. My child entered the examination hall late and had to suffer. Students were coming in even after 11am.”

Some students left for their centres at 8.30, even though they stay nearby, fearing getting caught in a jam.

Kashif Jamal, an examinee, said: “I started just after 8.30 from Raja Bazaar and reached the examination centre by 9am. I confronted traffic trouble during my Class X examination two years ago.”

The students were not spared the traffic trouble even on their way back home.