The high alert in Mumbai has made parents in the city jittery. Schools from south Mumbai and Navi Mumbai got frantic calls from worried parents between 7am and 9am asking whether schools had been shut over the probable terror threat
The high alert in Mumbai has made parents in the city jittery. Schools from south Mumbai and Navi Mumbai got frantic calls from worried parents between 7am and 9am asking whether schools had been shut over the probable terror threat.
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A principal from a school in Mazgaon said, “Our phones rang non-stop in the morning. Parents were asking whether school was operational for the day.” The number of parents coming to schools to drop off their children was higher than usual, school authorities said.
"Parents were worried about the high alert and so they were not only calling to verify but also dropping their children off personally," said another schoolteacher from Andheri. The schools claim that there has been a marginal increase in absenteeism, which is normally 5 per cent but has gone up by another 2 per cent today.
On the roads, too, in the early morning hours, children waiting for school buses were comparatively fewer. “Buses were running as usual, but then there were around 15-20 per cent fewer students travelling on them. It was a regular working day for many schools across Mumbai," said a member of School Bus Owners Association.
Most students who didn’t turn up were from the island city and Navi Mumbai, while schools from the western and eastern suburbs saw a regular turnout. There are around 500 school buses that ply in south Mumbai alone while more than 1,000 school buses operate throughout Navi Mumbai.
There is a strong police 'bandobast' throughout the city especially near the coasts right from Gateway, Colaba, Cuffe Parade and other south Mumbai regions. Also, the situation remains the same at a few locations in Navi Mumbai, which are close to Uran. The elite anti-terror commando force National Security Guards have been deployed in this coastal town.
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