Chandigarh, Jan. 29 -- What was meant to be a return to routine after a three day holiday break for students descended into chaos across Chandigarh schools on Wednesday morning, as bomb threat emails sent to 30 schools triggered precautionary evacuations and heightened security checks across UT schools. The ripple effect left a widespread uncertainty among parents, students and authorities. At Vivek High School, Ashish Sharma, father of two boys, said he learned about the situation from his child before the school authorities. "The kids were already on their way back when I got a call from my elder son-using the bus attendant's phone. They had been made to board the same buses they usually take, but the children were visibly panicked. Even if this turned out to be a hoax, there has to be a better system to handle situations like this." In several cases, parents said they were left in the dark even as students remained inside school premises. A parent of a Class 12 student at Shri Guru Gobind Singh School recounted the confusion inside the campus. "My elder daughter had gone to school for her physical education practical. Even after the school received information about the threat, she was made to sit for nearly two hours. Junior students were allowed to leave, but senior students were kept inside." HS Mamik, president of the Independent Schools Association (ISA), which has over 77 member schools across the Tricity, said the incident was unprecedented. "The schools that received the threat emails followed standard safety protocol and evacuated students immediately to ensure no child remained under fear or risk." Even schools that did not receive emails were also affected by the widespread panic. Despite an advisory circulated by the UT administration asking schools not to declare holidays without verified inputs, the fear spilled over. A parent of a child studying at Ashiana Public School, requesting anonymity, described the panic triggered by the school's WhatsApp message. "The school informed us that there had been a bomb threat and that students were being sent back, asking parents to pick them up from their respective stops. That one message asking us to pick our kids within 15 minutes, created so much chaos. We were terrified about our child's safety." Director school education, Nitish Singla, said police were alerted immediately after principals flagged the emails. "Schools have now been advised to remain extra vigilant. If any such email is received again, the first step should be to inform the police," he said. The disruption also came at a sensitive academic juncture, with CBSE schools currently conducting board practical examinations ahead of the February 14 deadline and ICSE schools are in the midst of their pre-board examinations. Parents said the sudden evacuations and delayed decisions added to students' stress....