Prominent religious leaders will visit Kuppegala village on Monday and eat midday meals at the government school in a bid to bring an end to the caste row.
Karnataka Backward Classes Forum president K. Shivaram told The Hindu that around six progressive religious leaders of various castes will eat the midday meals with schoolchildren.
While school authorities have confirmed that permission had been sought for the leaders’ visit, Dalit leaders of the village have welcomed the initiative.
M.V. Manjunath, member of the School Development Monitoring Committee and leader of Dalit Jagruthi Samithi, has welcomed the move.
The caste row erupted in the school, the alma mater of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, after a section of upper caste students boycotted the school and the midday meals after the appointment of a Dalit cook.
“We are hopeful that the issue will be resolved. Already, a rise in the attendance has been noticed. About 115 students ate the midday meals on Friday and 120 on Saturday. I am sure all the students will soon resume eating midday meals at the school,” Mr. Manjunath said.
Soon after the government appointed a third cook at the school, the attendance had dipped drastically to less than 90 last week. Mr Siddaramaiah, who visited Mysuru last week, promised to broker peace by holding meetings between the two groups.
Revenue Minister V. Srinivas Prasad, who is also district in-charge, held separate meetings with representatives of the upper caste and Dalits on Friday. He had ruled out any possibility of replacing the Dalit cook and fixed Saturday as a deadline for the Education Department officials to ensure that all students start eating midday meals.
Deputy Director of Public Instruction H.R. Basappa had expressed hope that the issue would soon be resolved as several upper caste leaders, including heads of the villages, attended the meeting.
Meanwhile, National Commission for Scheduled Castes member T.M. Kamalamma is scheduled to visit Mysuru on Monday and Tuesday.
