Nizamabad: In the wake of food poisoning cases at government welfare schools, authorities have become utmost careful with the quality of midday meals (MDM). Headmasters, teachers and organisers of MDM themselves taste the food before serving it to students.
Deccan Chronicle visited Zilla Parishad High School (ZPHS) at Gupanpally village in Nizamabad mandal on Friday and observed the implementation of MDM. ZPHS Gupanpally headmistress A. Shakuntala Devi said midday-meal is prepared once again if stones and worms are found in the food. Tasting has become mandatory, she said.
“We are planning to implement new menu in mid-meal scheme,” Shakuntala Devi said. During the interval, students purchase food items from outside and they may cause health problems, she said. “We take precautions to prevent students from going outside to purchase inferior quality food items,” she explained.
K. Shobha, a mid-meal scheme organizer, said that hike in prices of vegetables, and eggs adversely affected them. For last 16 years, I have been serving as a midday meal cook. The government pays merely Rs 1,000 per month as wages, she lamented. If the government provides vegetables and pulses, besides rice, we would prepare nutritious food for students, she opined.
Tholichukka Raju, a parent, said mid-meal is good for their children. “My daughter and son have been studying in Classes 10h and 8 in ZPHS Gupanpally and they eat midday-meal,” he said.
Sania, a Class 10t student, said midday-meal is useful for them. “‘Some times, stones are found in rice, but the rice and curries are delicious and nutritious,” she said. Replying to a question, she said they never faced any health issues with midday-meal.
Meanwhile, Nizamabad rural mandal education officer Meghavath Sevla inspected the midday meal at various schools. He interacted with students at Gupanpally.
