Budgam: Mid-Day Meal (MDM) cooks, both men and women, from various parts of Budgam district Wednesday staged a protest in Magam town, demanding regularization of their services, enhancement of monthly honorarium, and social security benefits.
The protest, organized under the banner of the Mid-Day Meal Workers’ Union, saw participation from cooks serving in different educational zones of the district.
The protesters said that they have been working under the Mid-Day Meal Scheme for over 15 years, receiving what they described as “a meagre and humiliating” monthly honorarium of Rs 1,000 to 1,500. “We have been cooking meals for schoolchildren for 16 years, but our services have not been regularized. How can we survive on this amount?” said Naseema Bano, a cook from Khag zone.
Others expressed similar frustration over the absence of job security and welfare benefits. “We work in all weather conditions to feed students, yet the government treats us as invisible. There is no medical support, pension, or maternity benefit,” said Ghulam Mohammad, a cook from Beerwah area.
The protesters submitted a memorandum to the local administration, demanding immediate regularization of MDM cooks as government or contractual employees, an honorarium of at least ₹10,000 per month, inclusion in social security schemes, and better working conditions with proper cooking spaces and water facilities. They also complained of frequent payment delays stretching over several months. [KNT]
