KENDRAPARA: An eight-year-old schoolboy suffered serious burn injuries after falling into a boiling pot of water meant for cooking rice under the mid-day meal (MDM) scheme on Thursday.
The shocking incident took place at the government-run Ananta Narayan upper primary school in Bahakandia village within Kendrapara Sadar police limits. The boy, Aahwahan Nayak of Bahakandia, is a Class III student.
Sources said cook Bidulata Swain was preparing noon meals in the school kitchen. Some students including Aahwahan were playing inside the kitchen. All of a sudden, Aahwahan accidentally fell into the utensil filled with boiling water. The injured student was first rushed to the community health centre (CHC) at Marshaghai for treatment. He was later shifted to the district headquarters hospital (DHH), Kendrapara due to the severity of his injuries. Headmaster of the school Raghunath Das termed the incident unfortunate and said, “We are questioning the cook, teachers and other students about the circumstances that led to the mishap.”
District education officer (DEO) of Kendrapara Pradeep Kumar Nag said a show cause notice has been issued to the school headmaster. A team has been formed under leadership of the block education officer of Marshaghai to investigate the incident and submit a report.
“After getting the probe report, we will take appropriate action against those found responsible for the gross negligence that led to the incident,” the DEO added.
While the incident sparked outrage among parents and locals, Kendrapara Sadar IIC Saroj Sahoo said police have suo motu taken cognisance of the matter. “We have launched an investigation into the incident and the injured boy’s condition is stable,” Sahoo added.