Srinagar, Oct 21: Aspirants appearing in the Jammu and Kashmir State Eligibility Test (JKSET) have urged Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to defer the Kashmir Marathon by one week, citing a clash with the examination scheduled for October 25 and concerns over possible traffic restrictions on the day.
The candidates said the simultaneous scheduling of the two events could create difficulties for examinees travelling to their designated examination centres. They said nearly 30,000 candidates were expected to appear in the test and called for the marathon to be rescheduled to ensure that no candidate faces inconvenience.
The JKSET/LASET-2026 examination, conducted by the University of Kashmir under the framework of the University Grants Commission (UGC), is scheduled for Sunday, October 25, according to the official notification issued by the J&K State Eligibility Test Agency. The test is being held for determining eligibility for appointment as Assistant Professor in universities and colleges across Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
The third edition of the Kashmir Marathon is also scheduled for October 25. According to figures reported by the Tourism Department, 1,807 runners, including 73 foreign participants, have registered for the event. The department aims to establish the marathon as an annual fixture and promote Kashmir as a destination for sports tourism.
The aspirants told the news agency Kashmir News Trust that the marathon-related traffic restrictions and movement arrangements could affect candidates attempting to reach examination centres on time. They appealed to the Chief Minister to intervene and ask the organizers to shift the marathon by one week, allowing both events to proceed without creating difficulties for candidates.
They maintained that rescheduling the marathon would help safeguard the interests of examinees while allowing the tourism event to take place on a revised date. [KNT]
