On sports meet trip, students denied food, beds

They were literally starved for 24 hours and forced to spend the night without mattresses, at the KV School (Railways) here on Friday.

The students did not protest as they did not want to jeopardise their trip to the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan’s National Sports Meet, scheduled to be held from November 16 to 20. Without a word of complaint, they slept on benches.

The students assembled here on November 12 to proceed to Chennai to take the New Delhi-bound Tamil Nadu Express. On Thursday morning they arrived at the school near the City railway station, realising little the horrors that awaited them.
The matter came to light when parents went to the railway station to see off their wards, who wailed before them, revealing they had spent the entire day on empty stomachs. They also complained that they were not provided with mattresses or blankets despite the chilly  weather here.

Complaint lodged

After seeing off his daughter, an angry Bikash Kumar Das lodged a complaint with D T S Rao, Assistant Commissioner, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, Bangalore region, demanding action against officials responsible for the treatment meted out to the children.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, Das said the students were held like “prisoners, with no lunch, dinner, tea or snacks provided to them, and all were asked to sleep on the cold, dirty floor.”

Das even requested to stop the transit system from KV School# (Railways) and audit the amount allotted for the students’ expenses.

He has decided to take up the matter with the Human Resource Development Ministry and the National Commission for Women (NCW).

When contacted, Rao promised a probe, saying action would be taken against the guilty.