Presiding over a grievance meet organised for Dalits at the Deputy Commissioner’s Office here on Friday, Ponnuraj said that officials including Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer should visit hostels in the evening and check the quality of food served there by eating it along with students. Reports with regard to the official visit should be submitted to the district administration periodically, the DC said.

Talking about the allegations of misappropriations in the purchase and stock of food items in SC/ST hostels, Ponnuraj said that committees comprising inmate students, local Dalit leaders and hostel authorities must be formed in every hostels. Godowns of the hostels should be locked using double-key locks and one of the keys should be handed over to the student members in the committee, he suggested. Dalit leaders also should take initiative to prevent misappropriations in SC/ST hostels, he added.

Earlier Dalit Sangharsha Samiti (Ambedkar faction) district President S P Anand had brought to the notice of DC that irregularities and misappropriations are in place at several SC/ST hostels in the district. Anand pointed out that the authorities of Yedapadavu SC/ST hostel stopped serving milk to inmates. “While there is sanction to purchase 6 kilograms of chicken meat every week for 22 students in the hostel, authorities bring only 2 kilograms every week,” Anand alleged. Further, he said that students at many hostels lack proper medical attention.

When Dalit leaders demanded an Ambedkar Bhavan in Mangalore, DC said that though there is a Bhavan near Kudmul Ranga Rao Hostel in the city, most of the rooms in the building have been rented out for commercial purposes. The building should not have been converted for commercial purposes, he said adding that the remaining rooms in the building should be used only for dalit welfare schemes.

Sahayavani meet

A grievance meet under the ‘Sahayavani’ scheme has been organised at the DC’s Office on Friday. Chairing the meet, Additional Deputy Commissioner Prabhakar Sharma said that all complaints received through Sahayavani will be disposed within 15 days. Sharma said that the Sahayavani counter in the DC Office will be open for public on all second and fourth Fridays. A total of 13 complaints were received on the first day.