Villagers of D Palaya of Gouribidanur taluk in Chikballapur district were in deep mourning here on Wednesday as they participated in the funeral of Anusha (6) who succumbed to her burns at Victoria Hospital.
Anusha had fallen into the open vessel containing boiling sambar made for the mid-day meal at her school on Tuesday. She is the second such casualty in the state, as another boy Santosh Parappa Hanumannanavar, of Chikkodi taluk in Belgaum district died on Tuesday after a similar mishap.
The body of the deceased girl was tearfully received by all the villagers, who took it to the school premises for a final tribute. Villager Shankarappa told Express: “Everybody in this village loved this girl.”
Rajamma, Anusha’s neighbour, said: “The incident has caused intolerable pain to the villagers. We had hoped our children will get good education by going to school, but this incident has caused us fear.”
Hundreds of students who gathered at the school premises staged a dharna against the school headmaster, teachers and cooks for the neglect which claimed Anusha’s life.
Gouribidanur MLA H N Shivashankar Reddy said the government has released compensation of Rs 50,000 to the girl’s family and promised jobs to her parents.