In a bizarre incident, in which Anganwadi workers undergoing training of handling the PC tablets at Sri Krishna Institute of Public Administration (SKIPA) questioned the quality of food being served at the State’s premier administrative training institute canteen, the officials associated with the department do not seem to accept the allegations at the first instance.
Questions are also being raised on the intention of few women trainees. Several eye-witnesses at SKIPA have claimed that the incident was a planned event to gain publicity. Ironically, neither the canteen workers of SKIPA nor the State government officials are clear about the reptile episode that created much uproar on Friday.
Assistant Director of Social Welfare Department, Jyoti Kumari Jha has stated that in the preliminary investigation nothing concrete has been found out that can raise a question on the service of the catering agency. prima-facie, it seems like that the incident was given unnecessary hype in pre-planned way, mentioned Jha.
Though, she said that matter has been brought in the light of both SKIPA personnel and Social Welfare Department officials and if required, investigative committee will be formed and further investigation will be done. “As nothing is clear, we cannot take any decision in haste. After consulting the medical experts at RIMS, they also clearly stated that it was mere a psychological problem,” said Jha.
Even the catering agency managing the service of providing quality meals to the probationary IAS officer including State Public Service Commission officers has stated that the whole incident was a pre-planned conspiracy of few women who have come for training here.
The employees of catering agency mentioned that they have recently taken up the charge of catering service at SKIPA and they have been managing the service at State Institute of Rural Development (SIRD) since 2013. “No one has ever complained about our service, nothing can be mentioned about incident clearly. When I asked the lady to show her plate, she simply refused to show the plate and the food stuff,” said Manager of SKIPA canteen, Raju Toppo.
The workers lending their services at SKIPA canteen stated that all precautionary measures are taken while preparing food items and while serving the meals. Some canteen workers even claimed that after the incident, Sambhar (food item in which allegedly reptile was found) was consumed by several other people including the canteen staffs as well but nothing happened to any one of them. One of the employee said that, even now it is not clear that whether it was really a reptile or brinjal stem.
Toppo, who was in-charge and was managing the catering service when incident took place said that out of 75 trainee Anganwadi workers, only five ladies created commotion. He further added that all of them belong to one similar district and was also instigating few other women who later on refused to be the part of this spectacle. Notably, after receiving the instructions from senior officials of the premier institution, all utensils were cleaned up and workers have been given strict instruction to take extra care while preparing the food items mentioned Toppo.