Sambalpur:
An eight-year-old girl student of a tribal residential school in Sambalpur died of burn injuries yesterday after she fell into a hot curry vessel.
Banita Kahnhar, a Class 3 student of Sevashram School run by the Odisha government at Girishchandrapur village, accidentally fell into the vessel when the students were jostling to get the egg curry while the mid-day-meal was being served, police said.
The girl was first taken to VSS Medical College Hospital at Burla and then shifted to the SCB Medical College Hospital at Cuttack on Saturday evening. After battling for life in the surgery ward of the hospital, she died today.
"The girl had sustained 70 per cent burn injuries, most of which were of third degree in nature as she remained unattended on the cooking bowl for a long period," a doctor at the SCB Medical College Hospital, Cuttack said.
There are altogether 323 students in the boarding school. As Banita belonged to the same village, she was not staying in the hostel.
As soon as the news of the death of the girl spread in the area, irate villagers staged a road blockade affecting traffic at Sambalpur and Naktideulo.
The district administration paid Rs 10,000 for the cremation of the girl and assured the parents of a recommendation for relief from the Chief Minister's fund.
Steps would also be initiated to appoint a doctor at the community health centre at Girishchandrapur and enrol the name of the victim's mother as a cook for mid-day-meal in the school, district officials said.