Kendrapara: A poor dalit woman, who works as a cook in a school, has not got her salary for 16 months forcing her to approach multiple layers of authorities, but to no avail.
Laxmipriya Majhi, a resident of Gangarampur Patina under Pattamundai block, has knocked the doors of the education department and the district collector and staged a fast to get justice in front of the collector’s office November 25, but nobody came forward to help her.
About 16 months back, locals engaged Majhi as a third cook at Siddha Paramahansha Nodal Primary School having a student strength of over 150 students. As per the standing government guidelines, if a school has more than hundred students, a third cook-cum-helper can be engaged under MDM. The guidelines further said if the candidate is from ST community and deserted by her husband, then he or she should be engaged on priority basis.
A school managing committee (SMC) meeting was organised July 30, 2016 under the chairmanship of Abhaya Tarai ,the SMC chairperson for engaging Majhi after the BEO of Pattamundai gave green signal to engage her vide his letter no-1272 dated July 29, 2016. Later, the SMC resolution was sent for approval to the BEO of Pattamundai and district collector to engage Majhi from August 1, 2016, said Praffula Tarai, sarpanch of Gangarampur GP. “Though, I was engaged as third cook in the school for 16 months , I am yet to get a single pie. Nor has the district collector given his approval to my engagement . I have been struggling to feed myself and my son. I have knocked at the doors of headmaster, BEO of Pattamundai, district collector, but in vain. I also sat on a dharana in front of the collectorate. The sub-collector, Kanhu Charan Dhir, assured me that the district collector would look into my grievances,” said Majhi.
Sources said the headmaster of the said school is reluctant to engage her as a cook as she belonged to a dalit family. Several times, the headmaster asked her not to come to the school for preparing meals.
Baladev Prasad Uppadhaya, the headmaster of Siddha Paramahansha Nodal Primary School, stated that he had asked her not to come to school as her engagement has not been approved by the district collector and that is why she would not get her salary. Meanwhile, all the formalities from his side have been completed and it is now on the table of his senior officers for providing approval to Majhi’s appointment, he said.
When contacted, district education officer, Sangram Sahu said the engagement of Majhi would get a green signal shortly as he has submitted the documents and the resolution copy of SMC to the authorities for engaging her as a third cook.
PNN
