After hundreds of complaints and numerous campaigns against the poor quality of mid-day meals served to five lakh students in civic schools, mayor Shraddha Jadhav has finally realised it is not fit for consumption. In the three years it took her to arrive at this conclusion, students have had little choice but to gulp down watery, uncooked khichdi everyday.
In a letter to all party leaders, Jadhav noted that some organisations are cooking in unhygienic conditions, while others don’t have enough experience. The BMC decided to award the contract to women’s organisations and set some norms about the supply and cooking. It is being claimed that in the process of allotment of the contract, organisations with experience were rejected, favouring those organisations which submitted bogus experience certificates.
“The health and education department of the BMC are supposed to inspect the kitchen of the organisation, where the food is being cooked. But there is no coordination between the two departments,” added Jadhav.
The Parent-Teacher Associated United Forum conducted a three-month study in 50 civic schools and found that 60% of the 200 parents were unhappy with the meals. Civic officials have admitted quality could be an issue. “But the civic body did not receive any serious complaints,” they added.
Three years late
It took mayor Shraddha Jadhav three years, numerous campaigns and complaints to decide that the mid-day meals, which consist of diluted khichdi, are unhygienic for the children studying the in 1,162 civic schools
