Nagpur, Oct 13
Schools are closed in the state since March 16, 2020, due to lockdown for Covid-19. Due to this reason, nutritious food cooking in the schools is also closed. Students are getting food grains instead of nutritious cooked food. Due to this reason, about 45000 cooks, kitchen employees and helpers are deprived of their salary. Now, new session of the schools has begun but schools have not started directly. Students are being taught online. When the schools start, students used to get cooked food like khichdi, rice and dal and masala rice.
There are more than 2818 schools in the district and about 4500 cooks, kitchen employees and helpers have been working there. Kitchen employees, cooks and helpers are being employed on contract by the school management committee. They get about Rs 1500 salary per month. The education department of the Zilla Parishad (ZP) spends about Rs 62 lakh for the salary of cooks, kitchen employees and helpers. But they did not get the salary for the month of July, August and September as the administration had not provided fund for their salary. Now, cooks, kitchen employees and helpers are waiting for the pending salary.
Meanwhile, the nutritious school food department of the ZP has sent a proposal of Rs 1.88 crore to the government for the payment of salary. Sources said that the fund has not been provided yet. Now, cooks, kitchen employees and helpers are in trouble due to non-payment of salary in the Covid pandemic.