Amid continued pay hike protest, 2 mid-day meal cooks die, Chhattisgarh govt denies link

RAIPUR: Amid allegations by workers’ unions that two mid-day meal cooks died at hospital and home respectively while an indefinite strike was underway in Chhattisgarh, the state govt on Tuesday denied any direct link between the deaths and the ongoing protest, calling it “misleading.”

The controversy has surfaced as cooks engaged under the PM Poshan (earlier mid-day meal) scheme continue an indefinite agitation, launched in late December, demanding a hike in their honorarium. The Chhattisgarh School Mid-Day Meal Cooks’ Union has claimed that two women cooks—who were part of the protest—died due to deteriorating health conditions during the agitation.

According to the union leader Ramraj, one of the deceased, Dulari Yadav, was posted at a govt primary school in Saldha village of Berla block in Bemetara district. She had been sitting at the protest site in Nava Raipur since Dec 29, 2025. He said her health worsened due to prolonged exposure to cold weather at the protest venue. She was later hospitalised and subsequently returned to her home district, where she died on Jan 26.

The second cook, Rukmani Sinha, hailed from Kusumkasa village in Dondi block of Balod district. Union representatives said she left the protest site on Jan 25 after her condition deteriorated and was referred to a private hospital, where she died while the agitation was still on.

In a video message, union leader Ramraj alleged that despite weeks of protest, the govt has failed to take concrete decisions on long-pending demands, forcing cooks—most of them women from economically vulnerable backgrounds—to continue their sit-in under difficult and unhygienic conditions. He warned that the agitation would be intensified if demands were not met.

The cooks have been seeking a revision of their monthly honorarium, arguing that stagnant wages and rising living costs have made it difficult to sustain their families, despite their key role in implementing one of India’s largest school nutrition programmes.

However, the Directorate of Public Instruction (DPI) issued a detailed clarification late on Tuesday, rejecting claims that the deaths were linked to the protest at the Tuta Dharna Sthal in Nava Raipur.

According to the DPI, representatives of the striking cooks had held discussions with them and the school education department secretary, during which the govt conveyed its decision to increase the cooks’ honorarium by 25%—amounting to a ₹500 hike—and appealed to them to call off the strike and return home. Despite this, some workers chose to continue the protest, the department said.

Clarifying the two deaths, the DPI said the cook from Balod district had attended the protest only on Jan 20 and 21 before returning home. She was later admitted to a govt hospital in Dalli Rajhara, where she died during treatment. The second cook, was already suffering from a serious illness and had been undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Bhilai, where she died.

“The deaths of the two cooks have no direct connection with the protest or the strike,” the DPI said.