Schools shut in Hyderabad as rain pounds city, fake WhatsApp forward creates confusion

With no word from the state government, several private schools began declaring holidays in their personal capacity.
Schools shut in Hyderabad as rain pounds city, fake WhatsApp forward creates confusion
Schools shut in Hyderabad as rain pounds city, fake WhatsApp forward creates confusion
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Confusion persisted among parents in Hyderabad on Tuesday morning on sending their children to school, after heavy rains lashed the city on Monday night.

Heavy downpour, accompanied by thunderstorm for over three hours in the evening, inundated low-lying areas and threw normal life out of gear.

Officials said a cloudburst was witnessed over the city as some areas recorded 7 cm to 12 cm rainfall.

As far as schools following the state government syllabus were concerned, the Telangana School Education department had declared Dasara Holidays between September 20 and October 4. 

This meant that the schools were scheduled to reopen on October 5.

However, many private schools in Hyderabad that follow Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations (ICSE) syllabus had declared their holidays from September 22 to October 2, according to reports

With anxious parents checking whether the schools would reopen on October 3, a WhatsApp image of a fake government notification began doing the rounds. 

The 'government order' claimed that all schools were closed on October 3, and was widely circulated on Monday night.

(The fake circular)

However, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) clarified on Tuesday that there was no such circular issued. 

With no word from the state government, several private schools began declaring holidays in their personal capacity.

Those schools, which were scheduled to re-open on Tuesday, postponed it to Wednesday, in view of the heavy rain and waterlogged roads.

On Monday, drains were overflowing at many places, inundating major roads in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, and in the Information Technology hub of Cyberabad and on the outskirts. Several colonies plunged into darkness as the wires snapped, disrupting the supply.

People returning home from work places were caught in long traffic snarls. Techies were stranded in the traffic jam in Madhapur, which houses many software giants.

With water levels rising sharply at few places, people stranded in cars had to be rescued.

GHMC pressed its emergency teams into service to clear the roads by pumping out the flood water. GHMC Commissioner Janardhan Reddy said people should not come out of their houses unless it is an emergency.

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao reviewed the situation with officials. He directed the authorities to remain on high alert and launch relief operations in the inundated areas.

IANS inputs

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