GUWAHATI
A few districts across Assam, including Kamrup (Metropolitan) which largely comprises Guwahati, have advanced school timings due to “continuous rise in mercury level and prevailing scorching heat”.
A few districts, including Bongaigaon, Majuli and Jorhat, revised school timings a few days ago to 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. from the normal 9 a.m. The temporary change in schedule in the other districts will be applicable from May 27, Education Department officials said.
According to the new timetable, classes will start at 7.30 a.m. and end at noon for primary schools and 1 p.m. for high and higher secondary schools.
The order, applicable for government-run and private schools, also said students should be instructed to not wear blazers, waistcoats, and ties during the current ‘heatwave’. They should also be allowed to wear sandals if they felt uncomfortable in shoes.
Officials of the India Meteorological Department, however, said the prevailing hot and humid conditions do not qualify to be called a heatwave.
“Heatwave refers to temperatures of more than 40 degrees Celsius persistent for two days. The highest temperature in Guwahati on May 26 was 39.4 degrees Celsius, which was almost a degree less than the May record in 1960,” a meteorologist said.
He also said the probability of Assam experiencing rainfall in the next 48 hours is high.
Other States in the northeast have also been experiencing unusually high temperatures since the latter half of April. Tripura, for instance, shut down schools for a few days a month ago.
Meanwhile, the Assam Police have requested people to provide drinking water to police personnel deployed near their houses, offices, and commercial and business establishments as long as the “heatwave” lasts.
“Our police personnel have been advised to carry water bottles with them. We would be grateful if these bottles are refilled as and when required,” the State’s Director General of Police G.P. Singh said on Saturday.
