ROURKELA/KEONJHAR: Two engineers, both employed but eyeing better prospects, lost their lives on Tuesday during a 25 km walking test as part of a physical fitness exam to select candidates for state’s foresters and forest guards.
Amid widespread concern about the timing of the test given that temperature has been hovering in the early 30s, the govt has initiated an inquiry into the circumstances leading to the deaths, while Odisha Sub-Ordinate Staff Selection Commission (OSSC), which has been conducting the exam, directed district officials to conduct the physical test in early morning hours to protect candidates from the heat.
Byomkesh Naik (28) from Ostopanga village in Keonjhar district and Prabin Kumar Panda (29) from Rourkela in Sundargarh district, collapsed during the physical endurance test at their respective exam centres.
Another aspirant, Abhishek Mahakud of Keonjhar, had to be hospitalised after feeling uneasy following the endurance test.
Naik completed the walk but fell ill shortly afterwards. He was first taken to the district headquarters hospital and later referred to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack, where he was declared dead. The engineering graduate used to work as a clerk in the Keonjhar sub-collector’s office. He was married and has a one-year-old daughter.
Panda collapsed after walking about 4 km. He was rushed to Sundargarh Government Medical College and Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead. Panda was working with a power distributor company.
Chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi announced an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh each for the families of the deceased. The Sundargarh district administration has additionally provided Rs 30,000 from the Red Cross fund to Panda’s family.
OSSSC has been conducting combined recruitment tests for livestock inspectors, foresters and forest guards. The 25km walk, to be completed within 4 hours, was meant only for those who have applied for jobs as foresters and forest guards.
Questions have surfaced about the timing of the test, which reportedly started at 9 am instead of early morning, with the sun blazing hot. The highest day temperature in Sundargarh was 37.3 degree Celsius while it was 33.8°C in Keonjhar.
OSSSC chairman Lalit Das defended the endurance exam, saying similar fitness tests existed for years. “The respective district administrations will probe the circumstances leading to the deaths and find out lapses if any,” Das said, adding that there is no plan to halt the endurance test since it’s almost over.
However, a decision has been taken to conduct the test in the early morning hours. “As per the commission’s instructions, candidates have been asked to report at the recruitment venues by 4.30 am on Wednesday. We aim to complete all required tests by 10 am,” said Rabinaryan Sahoo, additional district magistrate, Sundargarh.
Suvendu Sahoo, a fitness coach, highlighted the importance of mental preparation alongside physical fitness and suggested that such endurance tests should have been avoided during summer months as dehydration could have been a contributing factor in the deaths.