A wedding anniversary celebration inside a primary school has ignited a storm of controversy in Shantipur, Nadia, after allegations surfaced that food meant for students under the mid-day meal scheme was diverted for the private event. The incident unfolded at Natun Para Janakalyan Buniyadi Shikshalaya, where what began as a seemingly innocuous celebration quickly devolved into a full-blown confrontation between teachers and mid-day meal staff.
Claims and counterclaims of misappropriation, pilferage, and abuse of authority ricocheted across the campus, exposing deep-seated fissures within the institution.
According to the cooking staff, they had been instructed earlier in the day to reserve a portion of meat from the students’ allocated midday meal so it could be prepared separately for the anniversary celebration. This directive, they alleged, was the final provocation that brought simmering tensions to a boiling point.
Teachers, however, mounted a sharp rebuttal, accusing the kitchen staff of habitual siphoning of food items such as eggs meant for children. In a striking counter-allegation, the mid-day meal workers claimed that it was the teachers who routinely diverted student provisions, having them cooked separately for personal consumption and even for private gatherings.
As the dispute escalated, guardians and local residents descended upon the school premises, staging a protest. They alleged chronic negligence in the implementation of the mid-day meal scheme, claiming that children had long been deprived of adequate and nutritious food while supplies were clandestinely removed from the campus.
While acknowledging that a celebration had indeed taken place, acting headmistress Anamika Saha dismissed allegations of food theft as “entirely baseless.” She asserted that the meat used for the occasion had been independently procured and accused the kitchen staff of daily pilferage. Nevertheless, her defence did little to dispel discomfort over the propriety of hosting a personal celebration within a government school.
The mid-day meal staff categorically rejected these accusations, maintaining that they neither consumed nor removed food meant for students and reiterating that the misuse originated from the teaching side.
With tensions spiralling, personnel from Shantipur Police Station intervened to restore order. The situation was eventually brought under control following assurances of a formal inquiry, though the episode has left a trail of unanswered questions.
The controversy has once again cast a spotlight on the functioning of the mid-day meal scheme in the state—a programme that has repeatedly faced allegations ranging from substandard food quality to systemic irregularities.
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