New Delhi: “I remember the anxiety of having to go and pick up my children when I got the message about the bomb threat. I grabbed my scooter and rushed,” said a 40-year-old mother, whose children study in a school in Paschim Vihar. “I prayed in front of every temple on the way. It was terrifying.”
Frequent bomb threats to schools have sparked widespread panic among parents. Many have shared their distress when they were suddenly told to collect their children during school hours. The frequency of the threats means that parents live with constant worry about their children’s safety, and deal with the emotional impact of the recurring threats.
Naushad Ahmed (50) expressed his frustration. “This happened again, twice in a week. How many more times will this continue? Security and preventive measures need to be more strict in these cases. Parents would feel more secure if the main emails were tracked. How are parents supposed to focus on work with these constant threats?”
Another parent added, “My head space is completely ruined for the day. How is one supposed to cope with all this stress during work hours?”
Parents have also raised concerns about the severe traffic congestion that occurs during these emergencies. What typically would be a 20-minute journey stretches into an hour-long ordeal as hundreds of worried parents rush to schools.
One parent reflected on a previous incident, “I remember in May, when we first received the bomb threat, the commute was a mess. All parents were on the streets wanting to pick up their children as soon as possible – anybody would be scared for their child’s safety. Nothing’s better now.”
Sarita Yadav, 43, whose child studies at Bhatnagar International School in Paschim Vihar, one of the schools that received the bomb threat on Friday, said: “Friday morning, as usual, I sent my child to the bus stop near our house. While waiting with other parents for the bus that never came, one parent checked the phone and saw that the school sent a message as early as 4 am. We didn’t check the message. It’s scary to think what could have happened if we reached the school and something occurred.”
Yadav added that more needs to be done in terms of informing parents, “A lot of parents don’t get the time to check phones in the morning, and it is impossible for the school to call up every parent. Something better needs to be done.”
