18/07/2025
Mid-Day Meal Workers Protest in Aishmuqam, Demand Release of Pending Wages and Honorarium
Scores of Mid-Day Meal workers, primarily women from various villages of the District Anantnag, gathered today in the premises of the Zonal Education Office Aashmuqam to stage a Strong protest. The workers raised strong resentment against the government, alleging negligence and prolonged injustice regarding their wages.
The protesting workers, who have been preparing meals for school children under the Mid-Day Meal Scheme since 2005, highlighted that their monthly honorarium was fixed at a meager ₹900. Despite the low amount, they have reportedly not received this payment for the past two years.
“We have been providing our services in schools for nearly two decades. Despite our dedication, we haven’t been paid for two years. ₹900 was already too little, and now we are surviving with nothing,” said one of the protesting cooks.
Demanding immediate redressal, the workers called upon the government to release their two years of pending wages and urged for a revision in their monthly honorarium, stating that ₹900 is inadequate in today’s economic conditions.
The protestors have warned that if their demands are not met at the earliest, they will be left with no choice but to intensify their agitation.