Midday meal cooks hold protest in Bandipora demanding wage hike

Bandipora, Apr 7: The midday meal (MDM) cooks associated with the School Education Department, in a protest to demand a wage hike in north Kashmir’s Bandipora, alleged that they were being asked to arrange firewood from forests to prepare meals for children.

On Monday, a group of women MDM cooks assembled outside the mini-secretariat Bandipora to demand a monthly hike in their wages, saying that despite decades of service to the department, their plight was not being addressed. Haneefa Begum, head of the cooks’ association in Bandipora, led the protest and said they were being paid a monthly wage of 900 rupees, and that too for just 10 months of the year. The protesting cooks said despite their regular services, the department was paying them “piecemeal.” “At times they pay us 2,600 rupees every two to three years; at times we receive a meagre amount of 80 to 200 rupees every month,” they said.

“Is this justice?” Begum asked. She said amid their plight, school heads or concerned employees were asking them to “arrange firewood from forests to cook meals for children” amid an LPG shortage. She said they were receiving threats of being fired if these directives were not followed and if the protests were not called off. “This is nothing but harassment. These heads should face action,” Haneefa said. She added that the threats to fire them would not be tolerated and that they would not allow such action. The protesting cooks also launched an attack on the government, saying government has failed to address their “genuine demands.”

They also expressed anguish over the sidelining of their concerns in the recently concluded assembly session. “They are too busy securing their own futures after getting elected while ignoring the concerns of the poor public,” Haneefa lashed out, adding, “There is nothing but darkness under this government’s rule.” The protesters also raised slogans to demand the wage hike, besides pressing for regular pay for 12 months. The protesters later called off the strike.