Govt enhances safety standards of free meal programme, to avoid repeat of Bihar tragedy.
The state government will form a committee to ensure the safety of students who come under the midday meals scheme in the state, said minister for primary and secondary education, Kimmane Ratnakar.
Speaking at the legislative council on Tuesday, Ratnakar said there are about 60 lakh children studying in 55,000 schools across the state.
He was partaking in a debate raised by the opposition leaders in the backdrop of the midday meal tragedy in Bihar that left over 20 school children dead after consuming the government-sponsored meals.
“We have instructed the officers to procure food items like rice and oil, one month in advance. They have also been directed to reject the items if they are not of good quality. I have told them clearly that joint responsibility will have to be taken if anything goes wrong,” he said.
He added that he wanted every school in the state to have an independent water source. He said a report about the action taken by the government to ensure safety in the midday meal programme would be placed before the next session.
“The midday meal programme was launched 12 years ago in the state. As many as six crore students have been covered so far. However, only 12 cases [of food poisoning] have been reported across the state and not a single case of death,” he said.
Ratnakar also said he would pay a visit to Tamil Nadu, to take a cue from the midday meal system there.
Meanwhile, former chief minister DV Sadananda Gowda, who initiated the debate, said a portion of the MLCs’ and MLAs’ grants could be used to improve the situation. He said some schools in the state were found serving the meals to children beside gutters, toilets and other unhygienic places. If the government fails to address this issue immediately, a tragedy similar to the Bihar incident is bound to happen in the state as well, he warned.
In addition, JD(S) leader MC Nanaiah demanded for the formation of a high-level committee to look into the issue.
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