All schools to remain shut from Aug 27-30 in Punjab amid heavy rains: CM Bhagwant Mann

Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday announced closure of all schools in the state from August 27 to 30 in the wake of heavy rains forecast.

Incessant rains for the past two days have inundated villages across several districts of the state.

"It has been raining heavily for the past few days and the weather department has predicted heavy rains for the next few days as well.

"In view of this, all primary, secondary, senior secondary government and private schools in the state will remain closed from August 27 to August 30," Mann said on X.

The Sutlej, Beas and Ravi rivers and seasonal rivulets are in spate because of heavy rainfall in their catchment areas in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh and incessant rains in Punjab, inundating large swathes of farmland in villages along these rivers.

The release of surplus water from the Pong and Bhakra dams have also compounding problems for villages in several districts of Punjab.

The worst-affected villages are in Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Fazilka, Kapurthala, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur and Hoshiarpur districts.