Midday Meal Cooks Protest For 22 Days In Raipur Over Low Pay

Thousands of midday meal cooks, the majority of whom are women, have been protesting in Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh, for 22 days, calling for an increase in their daily pay from Rs 66 to more than Rs 400.

Women make up over 95 per cent of the demonstrators, many of whom are from rural and tribal areas. They claim that despite their own households being in danger, their labour keeps classrooms functioning.

Under the banner of the "Chhattisgarh School Madhyanh Bhojan Rasoiya Sanyukta Sangh," these cooks, who are essential to one of the government's ambitious nutrition programs, have been demonstrating.

"Why is the government playing with our lives?" asked Savita Manikpuri (38), who travelled from Kanker district to join the agitation.

A cook since 2011 at a government middle school in Dudhawa village, Manikpuri, recalled starting on a monthly honorarium of Rs 1,000, later raised to Rs 2,000 during the previous Congress government.

"Governments change, but our situation doesn't. How do we survive on Rs 66 a day?" she asked while talking to PTI on Monday.

"I have two children. My daughter has finished school, but I can't afford to send her to college. My son is in Class 11. They have dreams. I don't know how to fulfil them," she said.

The secretary of the protesting association, Meghraj Baghel (45), stated that over 87,000 chefs in the state are employed under the midday meal program. Since December 29, they have been on an indefinite strike, which he claimed has interfered with meal services in multiple schools.

Batches of chefs come from various regions, remain for a few days, and then go back home, where they are replaced. He said that between 6,000 and 7,000 chefs sit in protest every day.

According to Baghel, he has been involved with the program since October 1995.

"We began at Rs 15 per day. After 30 years, we are still at Rs 66. Our demand is simple - pay us the collector rate, around Rs 440 per day," he said.

According to Baghel, the state administration has taken no action to assist the chefs.

For ten months out of the year, they only pay salary of Rs 2,000 per month. On the other hand, he said that cooks in other states are paid far more for doing the same work: Rs 21,000 in Puducherry, Rs 12,000 in Kerala, Rs 6,000 in Lakshadweep, and Rs 4,000 apiece in Madhya Pradesh and Haryana.

According to Baghel, it is getting harder for them to make ends meet because of the crippling inflation.

Beyond wages, the cooks say their jobs are precarious.

"When schools are merged, or student strength declines, cooks are often removed. We have given our entire lives to this work. If a school closes, where do we go?" Baghel asked, demanding that they be given alternative employment within the government setup.

Another protester, Bhuneshwari Markam (40) from Mathuradih village of Dhamtari district, has been cooking mid-day meals for 15 years.

"We reach school for work by 9 am and leave after 3 pm. Cooking, serving, washing utensils - it takes five to six hours. Yet the government says we work only two hours," she rued.

Markam's family depends on her income and her labourer husband's daily wages.

"We don't have farmland. This is our main source of income. We feed other people's children, but we cannot properly feed our own. Education, clothes, even basic needs are a struggle," she added.

Due to the lack of cooking gas cylinders in rural regions, meals are frequently cooked on firewood stoves, and several ladies at the protest site discussed long-term health issues brought on by smoke.

The women declared that unless the government pays attention to their requests, they will keep holding protests.

The association's media coordinator, Pramod Ray, who works as a cook at a school in Nawagaon village in the Bemetara district, also emphasised the health risks that cooks face, particularly in rural regions where food is still made on fuel stoves since cooking gas is unavailable.

"Many suffer from eye problems and respiratory illnesses. My mother, who earlier worked as a mid-day meal cook, has been suffering from a heart-related ailment and has been under treatment for 6-7 years. In the rainy season, the work conditions worsen. Despite years of service, we are treated like bonded labourers," he claimed.

The state education department officials could not be contacted for a response despite repeated attempts.

State Congress chief Dipak Baij visited the protest site on Monday and extended support to the demands of the cooks.