Daringbadi: Fed up with the growing apathy of management, as many as 84 girls from Tilori-based Ashakiran High School under Daringbadi block in Kandhamal district fled from their hostel Friday night.
They brought to the light various irregularities at the hostel through a hand-written poster. The students complained about the low quality of food in a poster, pasted on the school wall before escaping late in the night. The school wore a deserted look Saturday morning.
The girls were spotted going to their villages in groups through a forest. Suspecting that it would be a group of Maoists, the locals bolted their doors and remained indoors throughtout the night. Later, they realised that it was actually school girls after they were spotted waiting for buses to their villages at various stands. Reports said the girls took the step after their headmaster paid no heed to their complaints.
In the hand-written poster, the girls complained about the low quality of food being provided to them by headmaster Dharanidhar Das. They said the headmaster did not provide food according to the menu. There was no proper electrification in the school. Most of the rooms in the hostel have no tubelights and fan.
Similarly, they had earlier demanded for mosquito nets but to no avail. Most of the students fell ill and affected by malaria due to this reason, they said. The students also alleged that they have not been provided medicines and denied treatment. Instead of taking them to hospitals, they were sent home when fell ill.
The headmaster also did not provide non-vegetarian food, claiming it was expensive.
When contacted, Das admitted that the students gave him a written complaint about their issues. “I will approach the district collector Brunda D and bring to her notice the various problems being faced by students,” Das said, adding that steps were being taken to bring back the students. PNN
