In an attempt to provide nutritious food to the students in state-run schools the Uttar Pradesh government has plans to give mid-day meal in sealed packets that would be provided in every school through tiffins boxes.
The scheme will come into force from September and all the schools around lucknow will get cooked food from next month..Basic Education Minister Ram Gobind Chaudhry said the food will be prepared by machines and then packed in boxes. The process will be undertaken by ‘Akshaya Patra’, a private company. The monitoring will be done by the by the midday meal staffers and they will be responsible for whatever is served to students in the school, the minister said.
“This will ensure that students get nutritious food in time because complaints galore abut teachers are doubling up as cook in many schools. The teachers say they cannot concentrate on studies of children because they are made to ensure food is cooked in healthy environment and is served within time,” minister said. “With Akshaya Patra being involved in serving cooked and packed food teachers can now concentrate on teaching,” he said.
‘Akshay Patr’ has already been part of supplying packed tiffin services in Agra and Mathura cities. “Now, three acres of land has been allotted to Akshaya Patra in Sarojni Nagar at the outskirts of the state capital for cooking food. The organization will take hardly a month in installing machines and we expect that it will start providing cooked food by September,” the minister said.Under MDM scheme the food is served as per menu which says students should get rice for four days and for two days flour made items should be given to children,.
Of later there are reports about children falling ill after eating food at the schools. “This will not happen once Akshay Patra starts operation here,” Chaudhry said.‘Akshay Patr’ organization holds limca book of world record for providing food to 1.75 lakh students in 1889 schools in Agra and Mathura.