Daringbadi: Inadequate midday meal (MDM) left dozens of students without food Saturday at Daberi Sevashram in Daringbadi block of Kandhamal district, triggering protests by villagers and parents.
Of 157 enrolled girls, 35 did not receive lunch after insufficient quantities were cooked, according to local officials and residents. Members of the village committee, school management committee, parents and self-help groups rushed to the school after learning of the shortage.
Tensions escalated when they found the students standing in the sun with plates, waiting to be served food. Villagers confronted headmaster Gopal Chandra Pradhan, and a heated argument continued for nearly two hours. School cooks alleged they are regularly given inadequate rations, including rice, to prepare meals.
As a temporary measure, the headmaster provided the hungry students with flattened rice and sugar. Cooked food was later served after a delay of about an hour, following protests. Residents said such incidents have occurred repeatedly, with students sometimes forced to subsist on flattened rice and sugar due to shortages.
Several groups warned of demonstrations if the headmaster is not transferred. The unrest interrupted a village meeting led by Susanta Mallick to address alleged mismanagement at the school. Attendees left midway and went to the Sevashram after hearing of the meal shortage. Villagers also alleged irregularities in the distribution of MDM and school uniforms, claiming some students have yet to receive uniforms.
Additional accusations included misappropriation of funds from the sale of materials from a demolished building and financial transactions conducted without proper school committee approval. Block officials, including CRC coordinator Balabhadra Mallick and Assistant Block Education Officer Gokulananda Nayak, reached the site, calmed the situation and began an inquiry.
A memorandum addressed to the block development officer (BDO) was submitted. Headmaster Pradhan denied the allegations, calling them baseless. He said adequate rations were provided and added that infrastructure issues had already been reported to higher authorities.
