Children at a primary school in Hinauta village in Uttar Pradesh’s Mirzapur on Thursday were handed chapatis for their lunch as part of the mid-day meal scheme.
What is shocking is that the children got only salt instead of vegetables or pulses along with milk and fruits!
After being intimated about it, district authorities called it “a serious lapse” and have initiated an inquiry into the incident at Siyur primary school in Hinauta village.
Kajal, a student at the school said, “I had salt with chapatis today in my lunch. Sometimes, we are given vegetables with chapatis but for today’s meal we just got salt.”
Several other children at the school claimed they had not received any milk too during the meal.
The cook at the school, an elderly lady claimed that she was provided just half a kilogram of potatoes to feed all the children in the school.
“I was provided half a kilogram of potatoes, salt and some spices to cook the meal for all the children in the school. I could cook only a few chapatis and had to serve them with salt,” the elderly cook said.
Mirzapur District Magistrate Anurag Patel blamed the teachers for the mismanagement .
“As per the orders by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the menu of mid-day meals across the districts is fixed. They are also given fruits and milk on some days. But these incidents happen due to the lapse of teachers and supervisory staff,” Patel said.
“We have suspended the teacher responsible and an investigation has been launched in the matter. It is true that today the students got just plain chapatis and are being forced to eat them with salt because of lack of vegetables. This is a serious lapse,” he added.
