September 8 School Holiday in Mumbai, Jammu, and Rajasthan

Scholarly timetables were thrown out of gear across the nation on September 8 as schools holiday in Mumbai, Jammu, and various districts of Rajasthan. Ongoing heavy rains, flood-like situations, landslides, and coinciding festival holidays compelled authorities to put curbs on classes and change reopening strategies.

Jammu

From August 26, Jammu has faced incessant rain, flash floods, and landslides, forcing schools to remain closed for almost 11 days. Officials have been asked by the Directorate of School Education to arrange for the safe reopening of schools. Physical classes are set to resume from September 10, after the infrastructure and safety arrangements in the worst-hit locations are inspected.

Rajasthan

Some regions of Rajasthan have also been grappling with torrential rain, with rivers and streams overflowing to cause serious disruption. An orange alert was issued by the Meteorological Department on Monday for four districts and a yellow alert for six districts. To err on the side of caution, school closures were ordered in Udaipur (all except those falling under the municipal corporation), Salumber, Jalore, Dungarpur, Sirohi, Barmer, Jaisalmer, and Balotra. Improvement in the weather, however, is predicted from September 9, according to the weather bureau.

Mumbai

Schools in Mumbai and the outskirts were shut on Monday due to a festival rescheduling. The Milad-un-Nabi festival, which was celebrated across the country on September 5, was moved to September 8 in an effort to avoid conflict with Ganesh Chaturthi processions. All government and private schools in the city thus had a holiday.

Punjab

In Punjab, meanwhile, the state government has confirmed that schools and colleges of higher education to resume normal functioning from Tuesday. Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains said that all aided schools, private schools, and government schools, along with universities and colleges, will reopen normally. He said, however, that district authorities will make the decision of closure in flood-affected areas if needed.

Also read: Eid-e-Milad: Bank Holiday in Mumbai Today, Sep 8, Banks Open Elsewhere in India