Daringbadi: Daringbadi BDO conducted a surprise verification at the student’s hostel of Welfare department at Greenbadi under this block in Kandhamal district late Wednesday night after a video showing ragging of a Class-VII boy went viral on social media platforms. The video shows a hostel inmate being beaten up by a Class-X student staying in the same hostel run by the state Welfare department. Daringbadi BDO Gadadhar Patra reached the hostel Wednesday midnight and conducted a surprise check of the hostel and various amenities available to the inmates.
He enquired about the quality of food being served to the inmates, their studies, boarding facilities and lifestyle in the hostel. He also held discussion with the hostel superintendent and the school headmaster Rohit Kumar Pradhan about the students and the facilities available to them. He urged the students to concentrate on their studies and lead a life of discipline in the hostel. He also talked to them on maintaining good health and not falling sick. When contacted, Patra said that night patrolling will be undertaken in hostels on a regular basis adding that he himself or the tehsildar will make surprise visits to keep tabs on the issues.
Action will be taken through discussion with the school authorities whenever problems are noticed. Moreover, a review meeting of the issues plaguing the hostels and schools will be held every month at the Daringbadi Panchayat Samiti conference hall by involving the headmasters, teachers, wardens and hostel superintendents of all hostels in the 25 panchayats of the block. Community welfare officer AB Patra Majhi and other officials accompanied the BDO during the visit.