Tough time for school children as dense fog envelops Valley in morning hours

Parents say kindergartens, primary level students shiver with bone chilling cold, urges Authorities to announce early winter break

With the onset of winter, Fatima (Name Changed)—a 2nd standard student wakes up at 7Am to get ready and to ensure that she won’t miss her school bus.

However, once Fatima leaves from home for school, she is greeted by a dense fog which not only affects the arrival of her bus but feels prone to getting ill with the bone chilled weather.

Speaking to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Fatima narrated the circumstances she encountered while venturing out to catch her school bus and reach school on time.

“It is very hard to stand out there in the misty fog, moreover the irony doesn’t end up in waiting for the bus, we sometimes get stuck on a road because of low visibility,” She said.

Fatima further says that waking up in early morning and stepping out for school amid dense fog is cumbersome”, she said adding “The dense fog impacts the minor students psychologically”.

She said the early morning dense fog not only impacts your mindset but also creates multiple obstacles for buses and cabs while reaching schools.

“The dense fog in winters hampers traffic movement which sometimes leads to late arrival to schools,” Fatima added.

Not only Fatima, several other students and parents narrated the same ordeal and requested the concerned authorities to either change the school timing of minor students or announce the winter vacation early.

One of the parents, Maqbool Ahmad said, “For me safety and health of all of the children should be the priority of the concerned authorities.”

He said, “Any negligence with the health of minors amid dense fog may lead to serious complications among them and this must not be neglected.”

Another parent said, “If the intensity of the fog continues like that or increases in the coming days, I will not allow my kids to go school and will keep them at home.”

He requested the School Education Department to relook at their academic calendar and weather conditions and announce its new decision for the betterment of school children. "An early winter break upto primary would be a welcome decision," he said.

Meanwhile, an official of the School Education Department said, “We are monitoring the weather and will take a call whenever required in accordance with the situation