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Govt. takes serious note of mid-day meal incident

LUCKNOW: Shaken by reports of over 200 children falling ill after taking the mid-day meal at a primary school in Sitapur district on Thursday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Prashant Kumar Mishra on Friday issued stern directives to ban use of loose edible oil for cooking the meals.

The Chief Secretary further directed the district officials to test the quality of utensils used for cooking the food and ensure that fresh vegetables are procured by the officials concerned.

Last month, Chief Minister Mayawati had sent a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh suggesting fundamental changes in the Mid-day Meal Scheme.

Nearly 220 children fell ill after consuming the mid-day meal of “poori” and “sabzi” served at four primary schools in Pahla development block of Sitapur district. These primary schools were located in Hilalpur, Umaria and Jaanipur villages of Chandpur gram sabha.

As the children started vomiting after eating the food, chaos prevailed in the schools as parents and villagers shifted the kids to the Parsendi Primary Health Centre and other neighbouring hospitals. The Sitapur district administration and the Basic Education Officer moved swiftly by filing a case against the Gram Pradhan and suspending four teachers. Three “Shiksha Mitras” were dismissed from service.

At the mid-day meal review meeting here in Lucknow, the Chief Secretary said awareness must be created among the gram pradhans and the cooks for observing basic cleanliness when the food is cooked. Mr. Mishra said the assistance of the children’s mothers should be sought in cooking the food.

The Chief Secretary called for extensive training of personnel at the Nyaya Panchayat and Block levels and said that the 138,000 primary and upper primary schools in the State should each have a trained person.

Laying emphasis on creating awareness, the Chief Secretary said quality food should be made available to the children.

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