The Midday Deaths.
With the death of 23 children in Gandman primary school in Chhapra after eating the meal prepared in unhygenic conditions ( grains were kept next to a sack of fertilizer with no proper space for kitchen), one of the most important social development schemes has come under the cloud.( Is this food security?DNA July 18) . The school-going children in many parts of the country have fallen ill and even died due to negligence on the part of the school. The scheme had great response from the poor farmers and farm workers. Instead of coming out with new schemes every now and then, the state and central governments could have spent more resources to make this great scheme a success. The scheme requires proper management – a clean room or even a shed to keep rice,wheat,vegetables, oil etc and to provide space for a proper kitchen. It also requires proper supervision by the parents of the children and a local NGO. All this was missing in the primary school where this tragedy occured. The government should ask some of the leading chanbers of commerce and industry to adopt these schools as part of their corporate social responsibity. Akshay Patra Foundation has been providing healthy meals to lakhs of students in various parts of the country. It could be asked to run similar kitchens to other schools of the country as well. We have to find a solution. Blame game has no meaning.
http://epaper.dnaindia.com/story.aspx?id=48917&boxid=30268&ed_date=2013-07-18&ed_code=820009&ed_page=1
July 18,2013.
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