India, Aug. 19 -- The school education department declared a holiday for all schools in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) on Tuesday after the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert indicating very heavy rainfall. The University of Mumbai has also postponed the examinations scheduled for the day.

Several schools have decided to conduct online classes to ensure no disruption in the course of academics.

On Monday, the government had announced a holiday only for the afternoon session. In some schools, the announcement came just half an hour before the classes commenced, forcing many parents to rush to pick up their children. Many schools then shifted to online mode of instruction.

After the red alert was issued, the U...