Noida: After a bomb threat and scramble for evacuation on Wednesday, it was a Thursday as usual for most of the schools in the city.
Students were again told about emergency evacuation processes, be it for earthquake, fire, or any other situation.
Vice-chancellor Rachna Shukla said, “The incident served as a reminder of the need to remain prepared for any emergency.
“I was studying in America back then and our school received a bomb threat and went through evacuation.
“No security checks were conducted on school premises as it could have scared children,” he said.
Noida: After a bomb threat and scramble for evacuation on Wednesday, it was a Thursday as usual for most of the schools in the city. A few schools saw a marginal dip in attendance, while others began the day with lessons on emergency evacuation and safety protocols .Four schools in Noida and three in Ghaziabad were among scores in Delhi-NCR that received emails claiming explosives had been planted on campuses.While they were later declared a hoax by police, it had set off evacuations in 20 NCR schools.“Classes were held as per schedule today, but there was a drop in attendance, nearly 10%,” an official from Delhi Public School, Noida, said. Three branches of DPS — in Sector 30 (Noida), Sector 122 (Noida) and Knowledge Park V — and Aster Public School in Greater Noida West received threat e-mails around 6.30 am on Wednesday.Sultanate Khan, a teacher of the school’s Sector 30 branch, said Wednesday’s evacuation process was smooth but can be overwhelming for teachers and students, many of them too young to understand what was transpiring.“Today, we had a rerun of the emergenccy drills. Students were again told about emergency evacuation processes, be it for earthquake, fire, or any other situation. They were specifically instructed on how to react in such situations,” Khan said.Aditi Basu Roy, principal of Grade International School in Greater Noida, said there was a slight drop in attendance, especially in junior sections on Thursday, but attributed it largely to the scorching heat.At Aster Public School, the day started with lessons on safety protocols. Vice-chancellor Rachna Shukla said, “The incident served as a reminder of the need to remain prepared for any emergency. Parents were also told how they should react to such situations.”Several anxious parents who were aware of threats through WhatsApp messages had gathered outside school entrances on Wednesday, demanding to take their children home adding to the chaos.Gargi, a class 6 student at DPS Greater Noida, said she had left her backpack in her classroom in the melee for evacuation. “I collected my bag today. The sight of everyone rushing to leave the school premises yesterday was frightening. Thankfully, things are back to normal now,” she said.Kapil Sharma, whose son is a class 10 student of in Cambridge School, shared the incident reminded him of an incident he faced in the 1980s. “I was studying in America back then and our school received a bomb threat and went through evacuation. I shared that story with my son today,” Sharma said, adding that he didn’t want his son to skip classes as the school had assured him there were no security lapses.Some parents, however, refrained from sending their children to school on the day. Manish Tripathi, father of a class 2 student of DPS Knowledge Park 5, said he wanted the situation to normalise a bit more. “My daughter is too young to face such security scares. Many of her classmates also stay home today,” he said.Additional CP (law and order) Shiv Hari Meena told TOI cops were deployed outside 20 schools that were evacuated and those which received mail, though there were no threats per se. “No security checks were conducted on school premises as it could have scared children,” he said.
