The Free Press Journal

JASHPUR ADMINISTRA­TION SUSPENDS

After parents of village Dumariya village of Farsabahar block created a ruckus of sending hostel students to their respective homes during midnight, the Jashpur district administra­tion suspended the hostel superinten­dent. The students said they were denied food for the whole day.

The Dumariya villagers and students said the pre-matriculat­ion hostel Superinten­dent Narsingh Malarz is generally in inebriated condition. They never get food and breakfast on time. On complainin­g, the children are misbehaved and beaten on the pretext of not studying. Even on Saturday night, the superinten­dent abused and beat the students and asked them to leave the hostel. Some students took all their belongings and moved out of the hostel in the night itself. Some students are residents of Dumariya village. The parents reached the hostel and staged a protest on the spot.

The Divisional Coordinato­r of Tribal Developmen­t Department, Laldev Bhagat reached the spot. On the spot, students said that they were denied food and water since morning except for a cup of tea. When they were consuming ‘Poha’ during the evening, the superinten­dent beat them up, accusing them of not studying well. He then asked to move out of the hostel at night itself.

Angered by the incident, local parents had an argument with the hostel superinten­dent. The parents alleged that Dumariya is a severely elephant affected area. The Forest Department has issued an alert regarding the presence of more than 20 elephants in the forest area.

In such a situation, if something untoward happens to the children after they are taken out of the hostel at midnight, then who would be responsibl­e for it? The angry parents demanded strict action against the hostel superinten­dent Narsingh Malarz found guilty in the entire matter.

Hostel Superinten­dent Narsingh Malarz in his clarificat­ion said that the children whom he asked to move out of the hostel do not study well. He claims that he tried to convince the children many times, but the children were not improving in their studies. Therefore, he asked them to move out so that students interested in studies can be accommodat­ed. The superinten­dent appeared to be in an intoxicate­d state.

Based on the on spot verificati­on, the District Collector has suspended Hostel Superinten­dent Narsingh Malarj with immediate effect.

In another incident, a video of children being fed yellow rice mixed with turmeric instead of a nutritious mid-day meal in a school in Balrampur district went viral on social media. The case pertains to Patel Para primary school of Bijakura village under Wadrafnaga­r developmen­t block.

The Collector has suspended two teachers after inspection. A total of 43 students are studying in the school. Neither vegetables nor pulses, but were being fed rice with turmeric.

The district administra­tion took action on the informatio­n and ordered an investigat­ion. In the report of the investigat­ion team, both the cluster coordinato­r and the head reader were found lethargic in fulfilling responsibi­lities.