Report by Kahnu Nanda; Jagatsinghpur: District midday meal cooks and helpers association staged demonstration and protest meeting in front of collector’s office here demanding fulfillments of their several longstanding demands on Friday, hundreds of these workers across the Jagatsinghpur district participated in the stir, sources added.

All India UTUC affiliated association members converged at Nimain Bhawan here and took out a rally from their and covered entire town later reached at collector’s parade ground where a protest meeting was held. Speaking on the occasion association president Pradipta Ram fumed against the state government who takes lukewarm response on the midday meal works till date, even chief minister had declared few months ago hiking midday meal workers remuneration ironically the order yet to be implemented, however we claim giving a reasonable pay package for these worker in accordance to sixth pay commission but our demands have been ignored, so it is strange how many days these people will do charity supporting the midday meal scheme at schools, president revealed.

Moreover all India UTUC state leader Sadasiva Das in his protest speech lauded giving at least Rs 10,000 salary to these workers per month, along with other claims as identification card, uniform, pension, insurance, GPF facilities, withdrawal of remuneration through bank for the midday meal cooks and helpers, he added.

After protest meeting association leaders submitted a memorandum before collector and discussed with additional district magistrate regarding their demands and then stir was called off.