Glut forces govt to include potato in mid-day meal

LUCKNOW: Children enrolled in primary schools and madarsas will get variety of potato dishes under the mid-day meal scheme.

This after the state witnessed a bumper potato production and subsequent fall in potato prices.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said to support the potato farmers, the state government had already announced minimum support price, exempted mandi tax, provided subsidy in export and transportation of potato.

“Now the state government has decided to include potato in the mid-day meal menu,” he added.

Raising the issue during zero hour in the assembly, leader of SP legislature party Ram Govind Chaudhary said due to fall in the potato prices, the farmers were not interested in taking out potato stored in cold storages, which were now dumping the potato in open fields.

“The state government has announced a scheme for the welfare of the potato farmers but it has not been implemented yet,” he said.

He said even if state government procured potato from the farmers there would always be a problem of storage as the cold storages across the state were over flowing with potato.

Yogi said the state government was committed for the welfare of the potato farmers and potato purchased by the state government will be utilized in the meal scheme run in primary schools across the state.

In UP, children are given bread, rice, fruit, pulses, soyabean, vegetable and milk under the mid-day meal scheme in 1,67,565 schools.

The aim is to provide nutritious food to the children and increase the enrollment.