NEET dreams end at locked gates after Bengaluru traffic chaos

Dubai: For thousands of aspiring doctors, Sunday was meant to be a second chance.

Instead, for at least three students in Bengaluru, it ended in heartbreak at the gates of their examination centres.

As candidates across India appeared for the NEET-UG re-test, traffic congestion allegedly linked to a Congress rally left several families scrambling to reach examination venues on time. Some parents rode scooters on footpaths, weaving through clogged roads in a desperate attempt to beat the clock.

For a handful of students, it was not enough.

By the time they arrived, the gates had closed.

According to parents and videos circulating on social media, some students broke down in tears outside the centres after being denied entry. One video showed candidates attempting to climb the outer gate before realising the inner gates had already been shut.

The exam, which began at 2pm, was being held more than a month after the original NEET test was invalidated following allegations of a paper leak. For many students, it represented another opportunity after weeks of uncertainty and intense preparation.

Parents said the final kilometres to the exam centres turned into an ordeal.

No option

Krishna Murthy, father of one candidate, said a journey that normally takes about 20 minutes stretched to more than half an hour because of traffic congestion.

“As a father, I got panicked,” he told NDTV. “I even rode on the footpath. The police scolded us, but there was no option.”

Another parent questioned why a major political event was held on the same day as one of the country’s most important entrance examinations.

The incident quickly triggered a political storm, with the BJP accusing the Congress of putting politics ahead of students, while Congress leaders blamed broader problems surrounding the examination process and said traffic advisories had been issued in advance.

Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge said the government had put arrangements in place, including a traffic advisory and helpline, and disputed claims that all the students missed the exam because of the rally.

Yet beyond the political blame game, the images of distraught students outside locked gates became the defining picture of the day.

For those candidates, months of preparation, coaching classes and hopes of securing a medical college seat ended not inside an examination hall, but outside it.

And unlike many exams, NEET offered no second chance once the gates closed.