CUTTACK: Two female cooks-cum-helpers sustained injuries after the pressure cooker in which they were preparing mid-day meals (MDM) for the students at Athagarh’s Gobindpur Upper Primary School exploded on Friday.
However, students of the school were unhurt as the kitchen was located around 100 ft away from their classrooms. The incident occurred at the school’s kitchen in Radhagobindpur gram panchayat of Athagarh block.
The injured, Tulasi Behera (40) and Chanchala Nayak (39), are both residents of Gobindamadhabpur village. They are currently undergoing treatment at Athagarh sub-divisional hospital and their condition is stated to be stable.
Sources said the two women were boiling potatoes in the pressure cooker when the incident took place.
The pressure cooker suddenly burst leaving both of them injured and the earthen stove completely damaged. The intensity of the explosion was such that the asbestos roof of the kitchen was partially damaged.
Hearing the explosion sound, the school’s headmistress Satyabhama Swain rushed to the spot, rescued the two injured and took them to the hospital.
Owing to the incident, around 100 students of the school had to go without their mid-day meals and make do with biscuits for lunch, which had been arranged for them by the headmistress.
The incident, meanwhile, called for mandatory, regular safety checks of the kitchen appliances which are being used for preparation of MDMs in schools across the district.
Athagarh block education officer (BEO) Kabiraj Jena reached the school along with other officials and launched an investigation. “From the preliminary investigation, it appears the two cooks-cum-helpers were technically unsound.
They could not understand the pressure cooker’s whistle which serves as a vital safety valve and cooking timer, indicating that the internal temperature and pressure reached their optimal high level,” said Jena adding, steps would be taken to impart proper training to cooks-cum-helpers on safe operation of kitchen equipment while preparing MDM in schools of the block.