The Palghar District Collector, who also heads the District Disaster Management Authority issued a holiday directive on Thursday after the India Meteorological Department (IMD) warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall and extremely heavy showers at isolated locations.
Although the rain warning was downgraded to orange for Friday from red on Thursday, heavy rainfall continued in several parts of Palghar, prompting the administration to suspend classes as a precautionary measure.
Schools and colleges in rain-hit parts of Palghar will remain closed on Friday, July 24, following a holiday order issued by the district administration amid continuing heavy rainfall.
According to the order, students will not be required to attend educational institutions on Friday. Headmasters, teachers and non-teaching employees, however, have been directed to remain present during regular office hours and undertake disaster-management duties whenever instructed by the local administration.
Local reports said the closure applies to schools, colleges and anganwadis in the severely affected Palghar, Dahanu and Talasari talukas. These include government and private primary and secondary schools, municipal and Zilla Parishad schools, aided and unaided institutions, ashram schools, colleges and vocational-training establishments.
Students and parents in other parts of Palghar district, particularly Vasai-Virar, should confirm the status directly with their respective institutions because reports differ over whether the order covers the entire district.
Are Mumbai schools closed today?
There is no citywide holiday for schools or colleges in Mumbai on Friday. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has not issued an official announcement ordering educational institutions to remain shut. Schools and colleges are therefore scheduled to operate normally.
The IMD's latest district forecast places Mumbai under a yellow alert, with heavy rainfall likely at isolated locations and occasional strong winds reaching 50–60 kmph and gusting up to 70 kmph.
Are Thane schools and colleges closed?
No district-wide school or college holiday has been declared in Thane as of Friday morning. In the absence of an official government or district-administration order, educational institutions are expected to remain open. Thane remains under an orange alert, with the IMD forecasting heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places. Strong winds of 50–60 kmph, gusting to around 70 kmph, are also likely.
Parents and students across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region have been advised to check messages from their schools and colleges before leaving home, as individual institutions may take local decisions depending on flooding, road conditions and the availability of transport.
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