Several schools that had decided to brave the bandh on Monday suffered in the wake of violence and vandalism in parts of the city that even forced them to suspend classes.

The parents of the handful of students who managed to reach schools spent a harrowing day fearing about their safety as reports spread that bandh backers were not sparing schoolbuses.

Many guardians requested the school authorities that they be allowed to take their wards back home early.

More than 100 students of DPS Megacity got a taste of the bandh as a bunch of BJP supporters stopped three buses ferrying them to school on VIP Road in Kestopur, while a public bus was being set ablaze nearby.

“Some people suddenly stopped our buses around 6am. They looked very angry.... I was scared when I saw a bus burning in front of us,” said Anuj Agarwal, a Class III student.

“The children were horrified seeing the burning bus. We were helpless. We were finally allowed to go around 8.30am,” said an attendant of one of the buses.

Bandh supporters also stopped a bus of Julien Day School Ganganagar near the airport. The children were held up for half an hour.

Child psychologist Mahua Ghosh said: “Kids usually suffer from Monday morning blues. On top of that, if they see such violence on the streets, their desire to attend school may decline further.”

Most students who travel by pool car had gathered at the designated pick-up points with their guardians on time. But at most places, either the cars did not turn up or BJP supporters forced the guardians and kids to return home.

“Today being Monday, I did not want my son to be absent from school. But in the morning the bandh supporters had placed a huge ladder to block the main road in our locality,” said Shampa Chakraborty, a resident of Mandirtala in Howrah. “I still wanted to wait for the pool car to arrive but the bandh supporters forced us to leave the spot immediately,” added Shampa, whose son is a Class X student of St Aloysius School in Howrah.

More than 100 students of Mandirtala could not attend school because of resistance from bandh supporters.

Among the schools that suspended classes around town were South Point, Pratt Memorial, St James, a few Loreto branches, Nava Nalanda and St Aloysius.

“We had decided to hold classes but anxious parents called us and wanted to take their children back home. We then decided to give over early,” said Krishna Damani of South Point School.

Terence Ireland, the principal of St James, cited a similar reason for closing the school during the day.