Schools in Mumbai remain shut, bus contractors ask parents to stay calm

As a precautionary measure, the schools shall remain closed today. Pic/ Samiullah Khan

While a holiday has been declared for schools following heavy rain warning by Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) Mumbai, a wave of panic was witnessed among parents and school bus owners over ensuring children's safety to drop them back home. Most of the schools in the city were closed due to Ganesh Chaturthi, however, some schools were functioning before the holiday declaration by the government. After the warning which advised citizens to stay indoors, the chaos started when the school children had to be dropped home.

With similar bus services running for multiple schools which generally have different timings, the situation became chaotic when all schools decided to call for buses at once to drop children home. The President of School Bus Owners Association, Anil Garg said, "Due to heavy downpour, all schools have declared it a holiday for the afternoon shift. Children have to be taken back home immediately but due to the sudden warning, the buses cannot pick up all the children at the same time. The dropping process will take time as the buses run for different schools. The schools have been informed about this situation and have been asked to call the parents to pick up their children instead of transport operators who are receiving continuous calls from parents to know the status of their children."

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With most of the school buses running with GPRS system, SBOA has also suggested that parents check on the system to get real-time updates about their children. "Schools can keep also a tab here. Schools buses are working and will drop all children home but the process is going to take some time. Keeping calm is important. Other than GPRS, schools have been asked to speak to their bus contractor and inform parents instead of the contractor to ensure smooth coordination of the process," added Garg. Meanwhile, after an intense spell of heavy rainfall for the past two hours, the warning issued for Mumbai, Thane, Raigad and Palghar has converted from Orange to Red indicating serious conditions demanding for action. This situation is expected to continue for the next 24 hours.

Also Read: Mumbai rains: Thane, Navi Mumbai, Palghar record more than 100mm rainfall in past 12 hours

As information provided by Indian Meteorological Department, the seasonal rainfall for Santacruz and Colaba observatories have been recorded as 2836 mm and 2088 mm respectively. According to experts this year the seasonal rainfall is expected to cross 3000mm. Director of IMD Mumbai, KS Hosalikar took to social media and posted, "Intense spell is going on for last 2 hrs. Rainfall warnings for Mumbai, Thane, Palghar and Raigad are RED coded now. Isolated extremely heavy rainfall, more than 20 CM is expected in these areas in the next 24 hours.

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