A holiday has been declared for schools, colleges and other educational institutes in Raigad district of Maharashtra on Thursday in the wake of heavy rainfall, officials said.

A similar order has been issued for Wada and Vikramgad talukas in Palghar district.

Both these districts lie in the coastal region of Maharashtra.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had issued a red alert for Raigad district for Wednesday, which continued on Thursday, and predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall.

In view of the red alert, Raigad collector Kishan Jawale announced a holiday for all government and private schools, training institutes and colleges.

The district has been receiving heavy showers over the past few days, which resulted in several rivers, including Kundalika, Amba and Savitri, flowing above the danger mark, which has led to disruption in communication networks, officials said.

The administration has requested the teaching staff to report for duty and assist other personnel in disaster management efforts.

In Palghar,. the district collector Govind Bodke issued an order declaring a holiday for all educational institutions in Wada and Vikramgad talukas on Thursday following very heavy rainfall, an official release said.

The weather bureau has predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall at places with the possibility of extremely heavy showers at isolated places and given an orange alert for the entire district, the order said.

Based on the ground report received from the tehsildars of Wada and Vikramgad talukas, a holiday has been declared there for all private and public educational institutions in the talukas, the collector's order added.

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