BARIPADA: Students of a girls’ school in Saraskana block of Mayurbhanj had to make do with puffed rice instead of cooked mid-day meal for five days over the weekend after the school ran out of rice due to a disruption in supply.
Sources said the registered dealer of Maa Subhadra UGME Girls’ School allegedly has not supplied rice for the past three months which forced the teachers to arrange the staple from the local market using their own money to ensure that cooked meals continued to be served to the 65 students of the school.
However, after exhausting their resources, the school was left with no option but to provide packed puffed rice as mid-day meal for five days. Rice supply resumed on Wednesday
Teachers and guardians alleged that they repeatedly informed block education officer (BEO) Mangal Charan Singh about the shortage of rice, but no action was taken. They claimed the BEO neither responded to their complaints nor took steps to resolve the issue.
A teacher, Bandana Mohapatra, said the school had purchased at least four quintals of rice from the local market at the teachers’ expense over the past three months to continue the mid-day meal programme.
“As it became financially unsustainable, we were forced to procure puffed rice from the local market and serve it to the students,” she said.
Guardians said the teachers and cooks should not be blamed for the situation, alleging that the BEO had neglected his responsibilities despite being informed several times. They further alleged that district education officer (DEO) Purnachandra Sethi was also aware of the matter but failed to intervene in time.
After the matter was brought to the notice of the DEO, he said rice supply has been resumed. While the BEO was not available for comments, DEO Sethi said an official team had been sent to inquire into the matter. He added that he had written to the collector recommending the transfer of the BEO for alleged negligence and had also requested the treasury office to withhold the BEO’s salary pending action.
The DEO said rice was dispatched to the school immediately after the administration received information about the issue on Wednesday.
