All Schools In Punjab To Be Closed Till August 26 Amid Heavy Rain And Flood-Like Situation

Punjab School Flood: The closure of all schools in Punjab comes in the wake of heavy rainfall and flood-like situation in several districts of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.

Punjab Schools Closed Till August 26 Due To Heavy Rainfall (Representational Image)

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The Punjab government has ordered closure of all schools in the state till August 26, 2023. The move from the state government in the view of floods followed by heavy rainfall in several districts of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains announced the closure of schools in the state on X (formerly Twitter) today. 

“As per the instructions of Honorable Chief Minister Punjab Bhagwant Maan ji, keeping in mind the floods caused by heavy rains in various districts of Punjab including Himachal Pradesh, the Punjab Government has ordered holidays with immediate effect in all government/aided/recognised and private schools of the state for safety reasons. The holidays are to be observed with immediate effect starting today (23rd August 2023) till 26th August 2023 (Saturday),” Punjab minister Harjot Singh Bains announced. 

Notably, the northern states of Himachal Pradesh and Punhab have been receiving severe downpours this monsoon. The onslaught of heavy monsoon rains have caused severe damages to lives and property in Himachal Pradesh in particular. A fresh spell of heavy rainfall in certain areas of Himachal Pradesh yesterday triggered landslides in Mandi and Hamirpur districts, and uprooted trees in some other areas. The meteorological department also issued a ‘red alert’ with ‘heavy to very heavy’ rainfall to ‘heavy rainfall’ across eight districts in Himachal Pradesh. 

Following the alert, the Deputy Commissioners of Shimla and Mandi districts ordered closure of all schools and colleges on August 23 and 24 under their jurisdiction. Following the alert, schools in Bilaspur district were also closed today, Wednesday, August 23, 2023. 

Notably, as many as 227 people have lost their lives in Himachal Pradesh so far this year. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu has claimed that the state has suffered losses of over 10,000 crores. Meanwhile, the Congress has urged the centre to declare the rain-related devastation there a "national disaster."