At Siddu's alma mater, students boycott dalit cook

Mysuru: Nov 29: Dozens of students at the Government Higher Primary School at Kuppegala village in Mysuru district have skipped class while others have stopped eating mid-day meals to protest the appointment of a dalit cook.

On Friday, 33 students stayed away from school while seven refrained from eating the food citing health reasons.?When the issue had previously cropped up in October, about 60 students had skipped the school.

The situation improved when students resumed classes four days ago after the assistant cook Manjula stayed at home citing a broken tooth. Two cooks belonging to the upper caste are preparing meals, much to the satisfaction of aggrieved parties. The headmaster,?Chikkadeva, made a vain bid to convince her to come back to work.?The president of the Standing?Committee on Public Health and?Education in the zilla panchayat, Arjunahalli Rajanna, hopes to convene a peace meeting once the situation improves.

The position of the assistant cook, which was reserved for a SC candidate, had remained vacant for the last six years as upper caste parents threatened to keep children away from school.

However, taking the issue on priority, a team of officials led by Assistant?Commissioner Saeeda Aiisha directed the School Development Management Committee (SDMC)?to fill the vacancy. Accordingly, Manjula from the village was recruited and she reported to work after Dasara.

However, protesting her appointment, about 60 students, who initially refused to eat food prepared by Manjula, later stopped attending classes.

None other than Chief Minister?Siddaramaiah is an alumnus of the school. He has been involved with the continuing tussles between the upper castes and dalits of the village. Further dust was kicked up over the common burial ground in the village when an upper caste man allegedly encroached upon the land.

Although the chief minister?had promised to sort out the issue by ordering the district administration to grant 1.5 acres of land for a dalit burial ground, it still remains on the paper. Besides, dalits were recently allowed entry to the Anjaneya Swamy and Marigudi temples with the intervention of officials,

triggering unrest among the upper castes who forced the priest to stay away from the temple. The community hall in the village is still prohibited for dalits.

Assistant Commissioner?Saeeda Aiisha told Deccan?Herald, “The process to buy 1.2 acres of land for burial ground near River Kapila flowing near the village has been already launched. The proposal has been submitted to the deputy commissioner, while permission has been already given to dalits to use the same land for final rites. The land belongs to an individual.”

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QR-code tips power Mangaluru's major drug bust: 25 arrested in 2 weeks

News Network

December 16,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 16: The Mangaluru City police have significantly escalated their campaign against drug trafficking, arresting 25 individuals and booking 12 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act between November 30 and December 13. The crackdown resulted in the seizure of a substantial quantity of illicit substances, including 685.6 grams of MDMA and 1.5 kg of ganja.

The success of this recent drive has been significantly boosted by the city’s innovative, QR code-based anonymous reporting system.

"The anonymous reporting system has received an encouraging response. Several recent arrests were made based on inputs received through this system, helping police tighten the noose around drug peddlers," said the City Police Commissioner.

The latest arrests contribute to a robust year-to-date record, underscoring the police's relentless commitment to combating the drug menace.

Up to December 14 this year, the police have registered a total of 107 cases of drug peddling, leading to the arrest of 219 peddlers. Furthermore, they have booked 562 cases of drug consumption, resulting in the arrest of 671 individuals.

The scale of the seizure for the year reflects the magnitude of the problem being tackled: police have seized 320.6 kg of ganja worth ₹88.7 lakh and 1.4 kg of MDMA valued at ₹1.2 crore. Other significant seizures include hydro-weed ganja worth ₹94.7 lakh and cocaine worth ₹1.9 lakh, among others.

The Commissioner emphasized a policy of rigorous enforcement: "We ensure that peddlers are caught red-handed so that they cannot later dispute the case or claim innocence."

To counter the rising trend of substance abuse among youth, the Mangaluru City police have rolled out uniform guidelines for random drug testing across educational institutions.

As part of the drive, tests were conducted in approximately 100 institutions, screening an estimated 5,500 to 6,000 students in the first phase. 20 students tested positive for drug consumption during the initial screening.

Students who tested positive have been provided counselling and are scheduled for re-testing in the second quarter. The testing will also be expanded to students not covered in the first phase. In a move to ensure strict implementation, police personnel were deployed in mufti in some institutions. Reiterating a zero-tolerance stance, the Commissioner confirmed that random testing will continue, and colleges have also been instructed to conduct drug tests at the time of admission to deter substance abuse from an early stage.

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