Many schools in and around Calcutta could not resume classes after the summer vacation on Monday because central forces, sent on poll duty, had yet to vacate the premises.

A PIL was filed in Calcutta High Court on Monday seeking the court’s intervention in ensuring that the schools reopen as soon as possible. The matter will be heard on Wednesday.

Rajkumari Memorial Girls’ High School in Baranagar, a government-aided institution in north Calcutta, was among the schools where classes could not resume on Monday.

“The local police station informed us that the central forces are likely to stay till June 19. We will not be able to resume classes till the forces leave the premises. The teachers will come for administrative work,” said Payel Dey, headmistress of the 159-year-old school.

Tiljala Balika Vidyalaya in Kasba will switch to online classes this week because the central forces have yet to vacate the campus.

“We were told that they will use the campus till the declaration of the election results. On Saturday, we were told by the local police station that the central forces would leave on Monday. Accordingly, we sent our cleaning staff. But they are still there,” said an official of the school.

The school had sent a notice to students saying the campus would reopen on June 12. “But we had to withdraw the notice and will start online classes,” said the headmistress, Avinanda Ghosh Dastidar.

Some private schools have also been forced to tweak their schedule. Shaw Public School in Behala is one of them.

The school could not reopen on Monday because a central force contingent is still stationed on the campus.

“I can’t say when the forces will leave. There is a lot of uncertainty. Even after they leave, it will take anotherday to clean the campus,” said Tapasi Sengupta, the principal.

An official in the state government said Nabanna has asked the commissioner of Kolkata Police and the district magistrates to find alternative accommodation for thecentral forces staying in schools.

But some of the local police stations this newspaper spoke to said they were yet to receive any specific instruction.

A senior officer at Lalbazar said central forces were still stationed at more than110 schools in and around Calcutta.

“There are more than 110 companies, each occupying an institution. Many of them were supposed to have returned by now. But train cancellations and someother reasons have delayed their return. Most of these 110 institutions are government and government-aided schools. There are very few private schools that still have the forces,” said a joint commissioner.

Train services from Sealdah station saw large-scale disruptions between Friday and Sunday because of a platform extension work.

A company usually has more than 100 personnel.

“We are trying to find alternate accommodation for the forces since the children are likely to miss classes. But it is not easy to find space for such a large group. We are trying to arrange community halls. But some of them are already booked,” said the officer at Lalbazar.

As Calcutta High Court reopened after the summer recess on Monday, the division bench of Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya allowed a prayer for the urgent hearing of a petition seeking judicial intervention for the resumption of classes at schools across the state.

“Most schools were used as polling centres as well as for giving shelter to the central forces. Now, the polls areover but most of the schools cannot reopen as the jawans are still staying there.... The students have been suffering.... The court should immediately intervene so the said schools can be opened as early as possible,” said the petitioner, advocate Jishnu Chowdhury.

The division bench agreed to hear the petition on Wednesday.