Adding to another story to the sequel of such events of fleeing from the school hostels, as many as 270 boys have deserted the hotel located in Phiringia of the tribal dominated Kandhamal district, on Gandhi Jayanti (October 2).

Most sensitive fact is that posters have been sighted at various locations in Phiringia and it has been warned that if the demands including postpone of transfer of a teacher were not met, the students would not return to the school hostel.

Reportedly, 270 students of the government hostel of Phiringia had fled from the hostel on Gandhi Jayanti. The students have alleged that proper food was not being provided to them. Moreover, they were not getting other things like soap and oil for daily use. Besides, they were being forced to do physical work which was unbearable.

Apart from these problems, the transfer of a teacher named Ramesh Chandra Sahu was another cause of such a development.

Notably, the girl inmates of the said hostel had fled earlier in last month and now the boys have deserted; it is becoming a headache for the local administration.

The local administration had inquired into the matter of girls fleeing from hostel and had ordered for the transfer of the said teacher and girls’ hostel superintendent.

Yet, it seems that the administrators are not taking these regular incidents seriously despite the state government’s claim of taking every step and measures for the welfare of the tribal people and tribal development in the state, as it was becoming a regular occurrence that tribal students are fleeing from the hostels located in tribal dominated districts of the state. The Daringibadi Kanyashram (Kandhamal) headlines then in 2007, and even attracted the attention of National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.