BJD MP sends textbooks and food to 30,000 tribal children in 25 districts of Odisha

Biju Janata Dal lawmaker Dr. Achyuta Samanta on Monday, May 25 sent 25 school buses full of textbooks and dry fruits for about 30,000 tribal students affiliated with the Kalinga Institute of Social Science (KISS) to their doorsteps in 25 districts of Odisha. Based in Bhubaneswar, the school provides education to tribal students free of cost but due to the nationwide lockdown, they are now staying at their homes in remote villages of Odisha.

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'We are also doing our bit...'

The administration sent the books along with breakfast in the busses. Samanta while speaking to news agency ANI said, "While the government is doing its bit in providing food and grains to the people, we are also doing our bit by providing these kids with textbooks. Close to 25 busses carrying textbooks to dry food are being deployed across 25 districts." 

"Nobody knows when the schools would open. So when these books reach the children, they would be happy and would be encouraged to the study these books and whatever education is being provided by the teacher via the medium of WhatsApp, these books would be beneficial for them," he added.

All educational institutions in the country including schools and colleges will continue to remain closed, the Ministry of Home Affairs said as it extended the nationwide lockdown due to coronavirus pandemic till May 31.

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Odisha reports 103 fresh COVID-19 cases

Meanwhile, Odisha registered its biggest spike in COVID-19 cases on Monday with 103 people testing positive for the disease, taking the total number of infected persons in the state to 1,438, a health department official said. It also reported the highest number of patients (99) recovering from the highly-infectious disease on the day, taking the total number of persons cured from COVID-19 in the state to 649.

The recovery rate from the disease now stands at 45.13% in Odisha, while the percentage of positive cases is 1.12, an official in the Health and Family Welfare department said. Of the total 1,438 cases in Odisha, 782 are active while 649 people have recovered from the disease and seven have died, the official said.

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(With agency inputs)