Midday meal cooks and helpers in Odisha continued to protest on Friday for the third day in a row, strengthening their agitation over unpaid pay and other long-standing demands. Members of the All Odisha Midday Meal Cook-Cum-Helper Association have been holding continuous demonstrations, including sitting through the night, as part of their ongoing protest.
The agitation is centered on obtaining the release of pending allowances for the previous three months and asking a wage raise. Protesters have turned to the streets, stating that authorities have ignored their repeated calls.

Key Demands Raised.
The group has made a number of requests, including the collection of unpaid dues, the introduction of equal pay for equal work, and salary revisions. They have also demanded that the retirement age be raised to 62 years, retrenched cooks be reinstated, and salaries be paid on schedule within the first week of each month.
In addition, the demonstrators have demanded that the Rs 1 lakh death assistance announced by the previous government be disbursed.
The group has made it plain that the protest will continue until their demands are met.

Another demonstrator claimed that the agitation was the result of continuing neglect by the authorities. "We are forced to demonstrate since the administration is not responding to our demands. We've been working for years, and this protest is for both us and the younger workers. "We will continue until our demands are met," the protester stated.
The demonstration was still going on when this report was sent.