Mumbai, Sep 1 (PTI) Maharashtra Minister Vijay Wadettiwar on Tuesday said students from flood-affected areas in the state can make a representation to the National Testing Agency through respective district collectors if they fail to appear for the JEE-NEET exams.

The Joint Entrance Exams (JEE)-Main for admission to engineering colleges began on Tuesday and will go on till September 6, while the medical entrance exam NEET is scheduled for September 13.

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Wadettiwar, minister for relief and rehabilitation in the Uddhav Thackeray government, said the state would protect the interest of all students, adding that the NTA will take an appropriate decision on such representations.

The Vidarbha region of Maharashtra is witnessing floods, leaving several parts cut off from the main cities.

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The exam centres include Nagpur, Chandrapur, Wardha, Amravati and Akola in Vidarbha, and over 15,000 students are expected to appear for the exams.

Over 53,000 people have been evacuated from 175 villages of Nagpur, Bhandara, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli districts in Vidarbha due to flooding after heavy rains and release of water from dams, officials said on Tuesday.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)