In a telling incident today, a student, while standing in queue to fill up an exam form, fell unconscious due to apparent suffocation while standing with a large group of peers.
The Tura Government College student was taken to hospital for treatment.
Student union leader Salsal Sangma blamed the rush and crush on a shortage of college staff deputed for this examination work.
The college has only one counter to receive hundreds of forms for admission and exams of students, he said. Hundreds of college students have to queue in order to submit their documents at a single window the whole day, not knowing whether in scourging heat and a suffocating environment their chances might amount to nothing if the office closes before they get to the front of the line.