No mid-day meals, rice piles in schools
Govt does not allow distribution of rice among public
Protecting rice meant for the mid-day meal from getting spoilt has turned out to be a worry for administrators of around 28,000 government and aided schools. Of these, 1,294 are in Hyderabad district.
Educational institutions have remained closed ever since the lockdown was imposed by the government on March 22. Since then, a little over 89,000 students of government and aided schools of Hyderabad district have been deprived of the mid-day meal lunch they used to otherwise have daily.
Chava Ravi, general secretary, Telangana State United Teachers Federation (TSUTF), told Deccan Chronicle that at least two to six quintals of rice is lying at each of the schools. “Most schools do not have proper storage facility. Classrooms and even offices of headmasters in some cases are being used to store the rice,” he said.
Headmasters of various government schools had earlier reached out to the authorities, requesting them to distribute the rice among the public and re-supply them as and when the schools reopen. It is learnt the proposal was rejected. School authorities have been asked to keep the stocks safe using natural pest control measures like neem leaves.
Rajasekhar Gaddam, headmaster of Zilla Parishad High School, Khammam, said, “We have at least six quintals of rice in our mid-day meal stockroom at the moment. Workers are taking measures to keep the stock safe from bugs. Some organisations did request the government that the rice be distributed because of the lockdown. But that did not happen.”
Meanwhile, school authorities have been tasked with the duty of sending data on the amount of rice available at the government schools in Hyderabad district. The data is to be sent to the Civil Supplies Department, it is stated.