Summer vacation in Odisha will start on Friday, April 21
(Representative Image)
All government, private, and aided schools in Odisha will now start their summer holidays on Friday, April 21 instead of on May 5, as originally planned
India is currently battling a scorching heat wave. Amid the soaring temperature, the Odisha government on Thursday announced preponing of summer vacations in school across the date. As per the latest update, summer vacation in Odisha will start on Friday, April 21.
Confirming the development, on Instagram, private secretary to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, V K Pandian wrote, “In view of prevailing heatwave conditions, Honourable Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik directs to prepone the summer vacation for all schools for classes up to 12th standard (Government, private, and aided) from tomorrow (April 21st). The concerned departments will decide on the date of reopening in due course. Detailed press release soon.”
The summer vacations of all the government, private and aided schools in Odisha were earlier scheduled to begin on May 5.
Odisha is currently battling extensive heat with temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius in most parts of the state. According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), Bhubaneshwar recorded a maximum daytime temperature of 42.7 degrees Celsius by 6:30 PM on Tuesday, April 18. Baripada and Jharsuguda reported the highest temperature in the state. Nuapada (44.4 degrees), Bolangir (44 degrees), Boudh (43.9 degrees), and Talcher (43.8 degrees) followed in the list. The maximum temperatures in the cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar were 42.5 and 42.2 degrees Celsius, respectively.
Earlier, the Odisha Government had released the notification of the closure of the schools till April 16 due to the heatwave. Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik ensured the residents that there would be a continuous supply of drinking water along with a power supply to meet the high demand during the summer.
The schools reopened on April 17 with the revised timings. However, the government released another notification stating that the schools in the state will operate from 6:30 am to 11 am. The students were also advised to take precautions for extreme weather, including adequate intake of glucose and ORS solution.
Odisha is not the only state to shut schools in view of the rising temperature. The state governments of West Bengal, Tripura and Meghalaya have also called for the closure of schools due to the extreme weather. States like Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Bihar had revised the school timings.
Read all the Latest Education News here
