Guwahati: Railway job aspirants in Assam’s Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) may soon get an examination centre closer to home, with the Railway Board initiating the process to establish a Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) examination centre in Kokrajhar.
The move follows a proposal submitted by Rajya Sabha MP Pramod Boro, who had urged the Ministry of Railways to open an RRB examination centre in Kokrajhar to reduce the difficulties faced by candidates from the region. The request was made in May this year.
In a communication to Boro, Railway Board Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Satish Kumar informed that the proposal had been examined and that RRB Guwahati had been directed to begin the process of identifying suitable venues for the proposed examination centre.
As part of the exercise, the Examination Conducting Agency (ECA) has been asked to carry out a preliminary audit of potential venues in Kokrajhar. The selected locations will have to meet the Railway Board’s prescribed standards relating to infrastructure, technical facilities, security, accessibility and operational requirements before they can be approved as examination centres.
At present, candidates from the Bodoland region generally have to travel to Guwahati or Tezpur to appear for Railway Recruitment Board examinations. The proposed centre in Kokrajhar is expected to reduce travel time and expenses for thousands of aspirants from BTR and neighbouring areas.
Welcoming the development, Pramod Boro expressed gratitude to Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Railway Board Chairman Satish Kumar for taking forward the proposal. He described it as the fulfilment of a long-pending demand of the people of Bodoland. He said the new examination centre would improve access to railway recruitment opportunities for the region’s youth.