New Delhi: Parents Anxious Over Repeated Bomb Threats To Schools; Principals Stress Preparedness

New Delhi: Amid repeated bomb threat emails to schools in the capital, parents said the recurring alerts are causing anxiety to children and their families, and disrupting routine school activities.

A father of a student from Air Force Bal Bharati School, Lodhi Road, said such incidents had become frequent and deeply unsettling for families.

"This has become so common that almost every month we get a call from the school and immediately start panicking. It affects our children mentally and also disturbs parents, who are called away from work in the middle of the day," he said.

Echoing similar concerns, Sweta, a mother of two students from an Air Force school, said children are distressed by repeated evacuations.

"Our children feel helpless. They were sitting in the ground from 8 am till noon, without water or their lunch boxes. We had received a similar call just a day earlier. There is always fear -- today it is a call, what if something unfortunate happens tomorrow," she said.

Around 15 schools across the capital received a bomb threat email on Monday, prompting heavy security deployment and precautionary evacuations. Of these, eight threats were later declared hoaxes, officials said.

School authorities said they are taking all precautionary measures including mock drills, tightened entry norms and round-the-clock coordination with authorities to tackle the spate of bomb threats.

Sudha Acharya, principal of ITL International School, Dwarka, said the school had installed a hooter system on campus. "Whenever we receive such an email, the hooter is sounded and students assemble in the ground within five minutes. We regularly conduct mock drills and evacuation exercises and remain in contact with the education department," she said, adding that schools can only take precautionary steps.

Geeta Gangwani, principal of Bal Bharati School, Rohini, said security had been tightened around the campus.

"We have doubled vigilance outside the school, restricted visitor entry, kept a close watch through CCTV cameras and remained in constant touch with local police" she said.

Another parent, whose child studies in Class 5 at The Indian School in Sadiq Nagar, said the repeated alerts were creating trauma among young students.

"This is happening almost daily now. The government should take steps to trace the people behind these emails so that parents and children get some relief," she said.

The threat email sent to Delhi schools on Monday allegedly carried provocative messages like "Delhi will become Khalistan" and "In memory of Afzal Guru", police said. The emails also threatened of possible blast inside Parliament on February 13 at 1.11 pm, prompting heightened alert among multiple security agencies.

According to the Delhi Fire Services (DFS), emergency calls were received from several educational institutions across the city during the morning hours, following which fire tenders and bomb disposal squads were rushed to the locations.

The schools that received the emails include Loreto Convent School in Delhi Cantonment, Cambridge School in Srinivaspuri and New Friends Colony, The Indian School in Sadiq Nagar, DTEA School in INA and Lodhi Road, Venkateshwar Global School in Rohini, CM SHRI School in Rohini and Shalimar Bagh, Aadharshila Vidyapeeth in Pitampura, Modern Public School and Jaspal Kaur Public School in Shalimar Bagh, Manav Sthali School in New Rajendra Nagar, Rajkiya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalayas in Dwarka and Bal Bharati School in Rohini, officials said.

As a precautionary measure, school premises were evacuated and students and staff were moved to safe locations. Bomb detection and disposal squads, along with dog units, conducted search operations at the affected schools.

No suspicious object has been recovered so far from any of the school premises, officials said, adding that searches are continuing.

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