Odia Women Seek Justice After Being Dismissed Over Unintended Gaffe:
Four middle-aged women, appearing tired and frail, are desperately seeking reinstatement in their Pachika (cook) positions in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. They lost their jobs in August after an unintentional mistake while preparing food for over 500 students at Gothagaon High School in Ganjam district, Odisha.
Their inadvertent error was placing spices, like ginger and chili meant for curry paste, into a vegetable bowl meant for grinding in a mixer-grinder. When one of the women went to the kitchen to grind the spices, the teachers discovered the bowl filled with uncooked potato slices. They accused the women of dishonestly mixing potato slices with spices to save some for personal use. Consequently, they were labeled as thieves and promptly dismissed from their jobs.
During August of this year, following the preparation of vegetables and the arrangement of all the necessities for the midday meal served to over 500 students, one of our cooks proceeded to the kitchen to grind spices for curry paste. In her haste due to a warning from the local electricity authorities of an impending power outage at 11 am, she used a vegetable bowl instead of the spice bowl.
The teachers accused her of theft and implicated us as her accomplices. We were unjustly branded as dishonest individuals and lost our jobs. Our pleas that everything we did was in the students’ best interest fell on deaf ears,” explained Bishnu Pradhan, one of the four dismissed Pachikas.
The other three affected Pachikas are Juli Parida, Jayanti Biswal, and Gita Swain. A Pachika earns a meager Rs 1,400 per month, equivalent to Rs 46.66 per day. The Central government covers 60% of their remuneration, with the state government providing the remaining 40%.
Given that this employment is supported by both the Central and state governments, we have optimism that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will intervene to restore our positions,” the women implored.
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