173 kids without noon meal for a month

Times of India, Sept 1, 2013
BHAWANIPATNA: Around 173 students of Latkabahali government primary school, about 15 km from here under Kesinga block, went without midday meal for a whole month from July 6 to August 5. And, no one noticed it.

The school records show children were fed. Nilakantha Majhi, a gana sikhyak (appointed with a consolidated monthly emolument of Rs 3,000) and headmaster in-charge of the school, admitted to have manipulated the records, but insisted he could not be faulted. "I did not have advance money to buy stock from the block office. I was helpless. It was my fault that I did not bring the matter to the notice of higher officials. I manipulated the records out of fear," Majhi said.

Subodh Rana, a villager, said though the children during the period in question took their noon meals at home it never occurred to them to enquire into the problem. Chairman of the school management committee Jagdish Deep pleaded ignorance and blamed the headmaster. "The headmaster should know why he made fake entries in the record," he said.

Ironically, Barun Naik, the Cluster Resource Centre Coordinator (CRCC), entrusted to supervise the functioning of MDM in a select group of schools, too washed his hands off. "That the school did not have money to buy MDM stock was never brought to my notice," he said. The project coordinator (DPC) Kailash Chandra Sahoo said: "Let the complaint come, we will inquire into the matter". District collector Bijoy Ketan Upadhyay said he would discuss the problem with officials and initiate appropriate action.