Punjab Govt Shuts Schools From August 23 to 26 Due to Heavy Rainfall – News18

The Punjab government declared on August 23 that all government, aided, and private schools in the state will be closed till August 26 owing to the potential for a flood-like situation brought on by the present spate of torrential rainfall.

Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains posted about the closing of the school on the microblogging platform X, formerly known as Twitter. The post stated, “As per the instructions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, keeping in mind the floods caused by heavy rains in various districts, the Punjab Government has ordered holidays with immediate effect in all government/aided/recognised and private schools of the state for safety reasons. Holidays will be observed with immediate effect today (August 23) till August 26 (Saturday).”

Not only Punjab but also the neighbouring state of Himachal Pradesh, has been inundated by rain.

In eight of its twelve districts, the Himachal Pradesh meteorological service has issued a red alert during the night, anticipating “heavy to very heavy” rainfall with some “extremely heavy” storms.

The warning was taken into account, and on 23 and 24, all schools and colleges within the purview of Deputy Commissioners Aditya Negi of Shimla and Arindam Chaudhary of Mandi were ordered to shut down.  Abid Hussian Sadiq, Deputy Commissioner of Bilaspur, stated that all educational institutions will be closed today.

Furthermore, in light of the rainfall, Himachal Pradesh University has postponed all examinations, including the post-graduation and BEd exams, which were due to take place on August 23 and 24. In this respect, the Himachal Pradesh University has also issued a notice. On these two days, no physical classes will be held at the institution, and the main library will be shut.

Meanwhile, the exams scheduled for August 23 and 24 have also been postponed by Sardar Patel University, Mandi.