Published On : Sat, Jul 20th, 2019

Shocking: Dead baby bat, worms found in mid-day meals in Nagpur, Gondia schools

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Nagpur: The quality of food served in schools under the Mid Day Meal Scheme continues to grab headlines, of course for wrong reasons. Cases of cooking of poor quality meals in unhygienic conditions, inadequate and poor quality of infrastructure in terms of kitchen sheds and utensils were rampant across all states exposing children to health hazards.

In the latest incident, a dead baby bat was found in the packet of masoor dal provided to a school in Gondia for its midday meal programme, while at another primary school in Nagpur, worms were found in a packet of rice meant to be cooked for the children’s lunch.

Following the ‘shocking discovery’, authorities have launched a thorough probe. It is learnt that Saurabh Mahila Vikas Manch, an organisation of women, is responsible for preparing midday meals for the Nagpur primary school. The rice package that was contaminated with worms was discovered just in time. However, in both incidents, the schools have sought an inquiry into the matter.

The Maharashtra Government launched the midday meal programme to provide one solid, square meal to students for free daily to boost education by increasing enrolment, retention and attendance in schools. Anganwadis and local women’s groups have been given the contract to prepare midday meals for students.