As many as 20 hostel inmates of Maribeda Ashram School in Malkangiri on Saturday scaled the boundary wall of the hostel to complain to District Collector about various irregularities in the hostel. The school is located at Maribeda village, around 25 km from the district headquarters.
The school as well as its hostel has been plagued with several problems. The gravity of the situation was laid bare when the students met the district welfare officer and narrated the irregularities going on at the school. They spoke about the rice meant for their hostel being siphoned off.
According to students, the previous night they had decided to meet the District Collector to make him aware of the irregularities going on in their school and hostel. As per their plan, they woke up at around 4 am, scaled the hostel boundary and walked towards Malkangiri to meet the District Collector. However, they met the district welfare officer and lodged their complaints with him.
Narrating the irregularities at their hostel, a student said they wanted to know where the rice meant for the hostel has gone. “The hostel rice was sold thrice last month. We were not aware when the rice was sold for the first time. But outsiders got the wind of it. But we have proof when they were sold for the second and third times,” he complained.
In this regard, when contacted, District Welfare Officer Krupasindhu Behera said, “The students had some complaints to make. But it is unfortunate that they had to scale the boundary wall to register their complaints. I gave them a patient hearing and we discussed the allegations thoroughly. They mainly complained about a female teacher. Their allegations have been taken seriously. After proper investigation to find out the veracity of their allegations, stringent actions would be taken against the guilty ones.”