BHUBANESWAR: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has directed the State Government to pay compensation to students of an upper primary school who fell sick after having mid-day meal (MDM) two years back.The apex human rights watchdog has asked the State Chief Secretary to pay Rs 1.6 lakh to 32 students of Arteswar Upper Primary School in Kendrapada district and submit proof of payment within eight weeks. Sources said children fell ill after they had egg curry in their mid-day meal on November 16, 2016. A dead caterpillar was found in the curry during the course of investigation following which a teacher, Jayanti Panda, was suspended.
Rights activist and Supreme Court lawyer Radhakanta Tripathy had moved the NHRC seeking compensation for the students and action against the erring school staff. After a probe by District Education Officer-cum-District Nodal Officer (MDM), while both the cook-cum-helpers of the school were disengaged from their duty, the school authorities cautioned to ensure no such incident is repeated.
In response to the NHRC notice, even as the Joint Secretary of School and Mass Education Department had communicated about the steps taken after the incident, the Commission found that the clarification is not based on merits. “The school students have suffered due to negligence and carelessness of the school authorities. Hence, Rs 5,000 each as interim relief is recommended to be paid to the students. The Chief Secretary is asked to submit the proof of payment within eight weeks,” the NHRC ordered.