Bhubaneswar: A contractor allegedly locked a government upper primary school in Rayagada district of Odisha over pending bills.

The students were forced to attend classes on the school verandah in the absence of any intervention in this regard from the administration, sources said.

The contractor, identified as Kishore Disari, had been entrusted with the task of constructing a toilet on the premises of Nuagaon Upper Primary School at Maikancha panchayat under Kashipur block in Rayagada district.

Disari had completed the toilet construction work around eight months ago. However, the authorities concerned are yet to clear his bills, sources said.

Livid over the pending bills, Disari allegedly locked all the classrooms of the school. As a result, the students were being forced to attend classes on the school verandah, sources added.

The contractor reportedly told the villagers that he would not unlock the classrooms till clearance of all his dues.

When contacted, Kashipur Block Education Officer (BEO) Diptimayee Singh could not give any satisfactory reply on the issue. However, another official claimed that Additional BEO Kula Ranjan Suna has been asked to visit the school and look into the issue.