Mid-day meal resumed in Rajasthan after 2 years; over a lakh students in Jaipur get meal on Day 1

Discontinued due to the pandemic for over two long years, the school children in Rajasthan now get to have the mid-day meals once again. Reportedly, on Wednesday, over 3.22 lakh school students in 10 districts of Rajasthan, got access to the meal cooked by the good folks at Akshaya Patra Foundation. With an aim to avoid classroom hunger, increase school enrolment and attendance, improve socialisation among cases, address malnutrition and empower women through employment, the organisation has resumed the noble scheme in Rajasthan.

The burnt of the pandemic on the underprivileged students

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Since the graph of the third wave of COVID-19 pandemic has gone down in Rajasthan, schools across the state have resumed physical classes with their provision for a mid-day meal scheme. The importance of this scheme cannot be undermined, since most of the children from villages have been struck by malnourishment due to multiple reasons, including the pandemic itself.

Raghupati Das, Rajasthan in charge of the Akshaya Patra Foundation, said that the food prepared through state-of-the-art machines in the centralized kitchens of Akshaya Patra is completely hygienic and follows the government guidelines which are based on nutritional value and menu as set by them.

In addition, a decision on the proposed breakfast scheme announced under National Education Policy is also awaited. As per the PM Poshan scheme, the states are given the right to take decisions on hikes in the honorarium of cooks and workers or the changes in the food menu.

Mixing tech with tradition

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Making the best use of technology, with the mechanization of the entire cooking process. With the help of technology, the organization is able to cook over 1200 kgs of pulses or vegetables, and equal amounts of rice at a time.

Since quality and hygiene is paramount to the organization, they have a state-of-the-art vehicle to ensure that the food reaches the schools safely in the most hygienic manner. Reportedly, this vital mid-day meal is distributed to over 1 lakh students in Jaipur, 27000 in Ajmer, 15000 in Bhilwara, 32000 in Bikaner, 18000 in Jodhpur, 53000 in Nathdwara, 30000 in Udaipur, 14000 in Chittorgarh and 12000 in Sahariya region of Baran.

The move by the state government will encourage more students in village India to visit school, resulting in an increase in attendance and the enrollment rate.

- With inputs from IANS