Well, it looks like students across Punjab are getting an unexpected, and pretty soggy, extension to their weekend.
Due to some seriously heavy rainfall predicted to keep up over the next few days, the Punjab government isn’t taking any chances.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann made the call to shut down all government and private schools and colleges across the entire state until this Saturday, August 30th. He made the announcement officially on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter), citing the IMD’s weather warnings and the need to keep everyone safe.
This isn’t just a one-day thing. A bunch of districts were already ahead of the curve, closing down earlier this week because of local flooding, waterlogged roads, and rising river levels.
Places like Pathankot, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, and Kapurthala had already called off classes for a day or two. The situation in cities like Amritsar and Ludhiana has been pretty significant too, leading to this now state-wide shutdown.
It’s not just Punjab dealing with this, either. The Jammu division has also ordered all schools to stay closed due to similar flood-like conditions there.
While students might be cheering for now, there are some worries about how this will affect the academic calendar and exam schedules. But officials are saying not to stress-they’ve promised to figure out revised schedules and make up for the lost time once the weather decides to play nice again. For now, the priority is definitely just staying safe and dry.