Rotten rice to kids: Headmistress suspended

PARADIP: Headmistress of a primary school under Paradip municipality was suspended on Friday for allegedly serving rotten, insect-eaten rice to the schoolkids under the mid-day-meal (MDM) scheme.The students of Maa Ambika Primary School here reportedly refused to take the meal after they fell ill. The parents alleged that they were also not provided eggs as per the provision.  The headmistress Urmila Kumari Pradhan, has been accused of misappropriating funds meant for MDM as food was prepared for only 250 students against its total strength of 390, the students alleged.  Paradip Municipality Chairperson Manjulata Jena recently visited the school and found the allegations to be true. Besides substandard rice and dal, there were no eggs for the  children.The in-charge executive officer of the municipality Rajendra Nayak then verified the documents and found that the headmistress had availed funds for 350 students by submitting false bills and voucher.  Suspending the headmistress, DI of Schools, Tirtol, Gadadhar Behera said action would be initiated as and when such irregularities are brought to the department’s notice.The headmistress, however, refuted the charges and attributed the problem to lack of storage facilities in the school.