Himachal Pradesh postponed an upcoming Forest Service examination on Tuesday as torrential rain wrought havoc across the state. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu indicated that the preliminary test would be held “on a later date” — tentatively October 5 due to the inclement weather conditions. The India Meteorological Department also sounded a red alert for the northern state in the afternoon as normal life remained at a standstill.
Forest Service prelim exam postponed to…
“Himachal Pradesh is currently grappling with a catastrophic disaster. In these circumstances, appearing for the Himachal Pradesh Forest Service (Preliminary) Examination becomes extremely challenging for the youth preparing for it. I have also received your messages through social media and other means, in which there was a demand to postpone the examination. Keeping in mind your sentiments and difficulties, a decision has been taken to postpone the examination and conduct it on a later date,” the Chief Minster wrote on X.
He urged the candidates to “continue with their preparation,” but did not mention an exact date for the postponed exam. An official notice shared by the CM confirmed that the state Public Service Commission was tentatively rescheduling the exam for October 5 due to the weather.
“It is for information of all concerned that the HP Public Service Commission has decided to postpone the aforesaid examination to 05-10-2025 (tentatively) due to inclement weather conditions,” the official notification stated.
Trains stopped, schools shut, over 1300 roads blocked
Train service was suspended, 1,311 roads, including six national highways, were closed, and schools were shut as heavy rainfall on Tuesday sent normal life in disarray in Himachal Pradesh. The situation is reportedly worse in interior areas where the link roads are blocked for several days and apple producers are unable to send their produce to markets. The local Met Office has issued a red alert and warned of ‘extremely heavy rain in isolated areas’ of the state for the day.
(With inputs from agencies)