Students walk back to their homes after a road blockade at Jagdeo Path area forced schools to cancel classes on Wednesday. Picture by Jai Prakash

Patna, April 6: Students of some city schools today had an unexpected holiday and patients suffered. Reason: Roadblock on Bailey Road that prevented students from reaching their schools and stopped patients from going to Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS).

Several school buses got stuck in traffic jams as a result of the protest. The students travelling in them were asked to return home by the schools’ authorities when it became clear that they would not be able to reach the educational institutions. But the return journey was not easy. Most school buses were stuck in the traffic jams for three to four hours.

Kankerbagh resident Shashank Shekhar, a student of Gyan Niketan, said: “It took me two-and-a-half-hours to reach home.” It usually takes him an hour.

Gyan Niketan vice-principal Archana Singh said: “We had to close the school because of the ruckus on the road. A few students who reached the school in the morning had to return home. It took them around three to four hours.”

DAV Khagaul principal Devesh Kumar Ghosh said: “I instructed the school bus to return as there was jam on the approach routes to the school. Students of both the senior and the junior wings were allowed to go home at the same time. The children reached home safely.”

Ghosh said the prime concern of the school authorities was the safety of the students, and added that the school had only 50 per cent attendance today.

Some schools, however, predicted the problem and tweaked the timings to avoid trouble.

St Karen’s High School principal P.K. Kunjachan said: “In the morning, the buses arrived before the blockade started. In the afternoon, we delayed the buses by an hour.”

The roadblock was lifted around 1.30pm and the students went home without trouble, added Kunjachan.

More than the students, the patients going to IGIMS suffered. Ravi Kumar Singh (25), a spondylitis patient, had to travel almost 19km to reach the hospital, thanks to the blockade.

“I had to travel from Digha to Kurji to reach the Bans Ghat and then the Gandhi Maidan. From there, I came to the hospital. I easily traversed 19km, which on normal days would be 8km. And my condition is such that I have been asked to travel less,” he said, waiting for the doctor at the outpatient department (OPD) of the hospital.