Protests Break Out As Krishnagiri's Tribal Schoolchildren In Tamil Nadu Are Denied Eggs

Protests broke out after students from the Irula tribe were denied access to eggs during their school's midday meal at a tribal village in the Krishnagiri region of Tamil Nadu.Five boys and four girls from the Irula community are enrolled in the Kadambakuttai Panchayat Union Primary School in the Denkanikottai Taluk of Krishnagiri.

The Irula children in this area do not receive even an egg a day, despite the Tamil Nadu government's emphasis on providing a very nutritious noon meal programme for Scheduled Tribe pupils in the state.

M. Deviani, the mother of one of the students, provides food because the school lacks a cook. She claimed that once every two months, dry rations are provided to the school for lunch. Deviani also mentioned that she had to carry food uphill to the school and that she used to receive eggs from the coordinator of the midday meal for two weeks.

The school's headmaster claimed to have reminded the person in charge of planning the noon meal to bring eggs, but she disagreed. Officials assert, however, that rain is to blame for the lack of eggs.

Meanwhile, a number of activists also spoke out vehemently against the district government for not delivering the eggs to a tribal school that is only for Irula tribal members.