Midday meals: Complaints galore over quality

From the poor quality of food to plates being hidden in cupboards, the Karnataka Food Commission came across various complaints about the supply of midday meals during a reality check.

Mohammed Ali, a member of the commission, said that at the Government New Model Primary School in Anekal, 50% students brought home-cooked food as they did not like the meals served in the school.

“This was a school with a student strength of about 163. The headmaster had locked 150 plates in his cupboard, complaining that the children did not wash the dishes properly. Some children got plates from home, while the others were sharing plates for the meals,” Ali said.

Also, only 100 grams of rice was given to students as against 150 grams.

The commission also found discrepancies in the supply of food at fair price shops across Bengaluru, a result of the implementation of E-KYC. The members of the commission took stock of four such shops in the city.

“Due to some issues with the server, it was not possible to upload details of beneficiaries in these places,” said Krishnamurthy, president, Karnataka State Food Commission.

They said the three servers in the state could not take this heavy load.

Responding to this, Girijadevi, joint director, department of food and civil supplies, said the process was suspended and would be resumed from January 20.

The commission also visited wholesale depots in Anekal and Roopena Agrahara.

They said the scientific method of stacking on wooden boards with tarpaulin sheets beneath was not followed.

Similarly, at nutrition rehabilitation centres, they found most of the beds vacant. “In Bowring Hospital, we found only three of 10 beds to be occupied. The situation was similar in Yelahanka and Victoria,” he said.