My daughter Chumki has hardly remained absent at the primary school for last eight-nine months. In fact, she is showing more interest to attend classes unlike earlier, said Trilochan Gahir of lanjigarh.
Gahir was initially unaware about the reason of a positive change in his kid until the latter told him one day that the taste and quality of the midday meal (MDM) food had kept her glued to the school. The food is supplied to her school from the kitchen of Vedanta Aluminum limited (VAl) at lanjigarh.
A school teacher admitted, "The VAl food is hygienic and of good taste. It is supplied from a centralised kitchen since August 16, 2012, which has attracted the school students."
As many as 5,000 students in 50 primary and upper primary schools in Jaganathpur, Basantpada, Biswanathpur, lanjigarh, Balabhadrapur, Pokhribandh, Chhatrapur, Jodabandh and Niyamgiri Vedanta Nagar under lanjigarh Panchayat are provided with hygienic and nutritious food by the VAl. The company has collaborated with the State Government and the Naandi Foundation to set up a hi-tech centralized MDM kitchen at lanjigarh. Apart from over Rs1.5 crore investment in building and equipment, the Vedanta incurs around `40 lakh annually for preparation and supply of the MDM, said sources.