Undergraduate exams of Calcutta University were conducted without any disruptions on Thursday, despite coinciding with the Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad’s (TMCP) foundation day rally, CU officials said.

Most students reached their exam centres on time for both the first and second halves of the day, the officials said. The university held BCom fourth-semester, BA/BSc fourth-semester, BA/BSc Part-II (under the 1+1+1 system), and the fourth, sixth, and eighth semesters of the five-year BA LLB course on August 28.

The exams, which began on August 12, will conclude on August 30.

Early start

Many examinees started early from their homes, anticipating traffic snarls due to the TMCP rally attended by Chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Mayo Road.

At City College of Commerce and Business Administration on Surya Sen Street, central Calcutta, 801 students appeared for the morning exam (10am to 1pm), and 205 students took the afternoon exam (2pm to 5pm), according to principal Md. Tofazzal Haque.

At New Alipore College, 393 students wrote the exam in the first half and 293 in the second, said principal Joydeep Sarangi.

At City College, examinees started arriving at 9am. A 20-year-old commerce student from Bangabasi Morning College travelled from Barrackpore. She said professors had informed her to arrive early to avoid road congestion. “I left home at 8am, caught a train, and reached the centre by 9am, whereas I usually arrive by 9.45am.”

The principal of City College of Commerce and Business Administration said that all teaching and non-teaching staff were asked to report by 8am.

Traffic disruptions

Several students recounted their experiences navigating traffic due to the rally.

At City College, examinees were allowed entry from 1.10pm for the second half.
Ipshita Manna, a student from Bangabasi College who travelled from Behala, reached the centre at 1.55pm. “I was delayed by traffic but managed to reach just in time,” she said.

Hanzala Zaki, a student of Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose College from Pilkhana, Howrah, said he started early at 7.30am. “Since there was a political rally, I did not want to take any risk,” he said. Zaki took an app cab to New Alipore College, avoiding his usual bus commute.

Deepsekhar Roy, who came from Santragachi in Howrah for the second-half exam, noted congestion on Vidyasagar Setu, where he saw buses flying TMCP flags occupying lanes. “Anticipating this, I began my journey early,” he said.

A senior police officer at Lalbazar acknowledged traffic disruptions in parts of south and central Calcutta, especially on Park Street, Red Road, and Mayo Road during the rally processions. “Necessary diversions and elaborate traffic arrangements were implemented to minimise weekday traffic impact,” the officer said.

Calcutta University’s officiating vice-chancellor Santa Datta Dey said the university had asserted its autonomy by refusing to defer the exams despite the state government’s request to change the dates due to the TMCP rally.

“The state government had requested us to postpone, but the university syndicate was firm on holding the exams as scheduled. We have stood by our autonomy,” Datta Dey said.

TMCP state president Trinankur Bhattacharya said: “We did not stop any examinees from reaching the examination centres.”