Rain paralyses Gurgaon: Schoolchildren stranded in buses for up to 4 hours
For hundreds of schoolchildren in Gurgaon, the journey home from school stretched by as much as four hours over the past two days, as the season's first major monsoon downpour flooded roads and brought traffic to a standstill.
Children who would normally be home by around 3.30 pm remained stranded inside school buses until 7 pm or later on Tuesday and Wednesday, returning exhausted, hungry and distressed.
At Suncity Schools, at least five buses were delayed over the two days, according to director Rupa Chakravarty. “Normally, our buses cover a 10-15 km radius and students reach home within an hour. Because of the rain, some buses could only reach by 5-5.30 pm,” she said.
The situation highlights the lack of contingency planning for extreme weather events, which are becoming more frequent. Parents expressed concern over the absence of timely communication from schools and the lack of basic amenities on buses. “For a child, being stranded in a school bus for hours means hunger, thirst, anxiety and not being able to use a washroom. We have to do better, not just at preventing such situations but at responding to them when they happen,” one parent said.
Authorities have not yet commented on the incident. The Gurgaon administration said it is monitoring the situation as more rains are forecast.
