BHOPAL: The former chief minister Digvijaya Singh has written to the Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan asking him to follow the Punjab government initiative of delivering mid-day meal to the students at their doorstep.
Due to lockdown, the deprived class people are facing hardships as there in no food to feed even the children, wrote the Congress leader.
Labourers and daily wagers have no work and are not able to arrange for food for the family, and their children are no more getting mid-day meal in the school which has aggravated their problems, the letter said.
Citing example of Punjab government, the Congress veteran asked the chief minister to implement the same model and start providing mid-day meals to children at their homes.
Many states supplying food grains at home
As per reports, many governments have started distributing food or food grains to the students in their states.
The Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) had last week asked states and union territories to ensure the continued supply of mid-day meals to students despite the closure of schools around the country to check the spread of coronavirus.
The suggestions offered were delivering packaged meals or the equivalent amount of food-grains to students at home, or depositing money in the bank accounts of their parents.
The governments in different states quickly stepped up, with Assam, West Bengal, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh — as well as the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir — announcing that they will ensure the delivery of mid-day meals to students.
Karnataka will tap anganwadi workers to ensure the delivery of mid-day meals to students.
Andhra Pradesh had announced that the state government will provide raw grains for 10 days to students at home, through Grama Sachivalayam workers and other volunteers.
Kerala has already been providing mid-day meals at home through anganwadi workers, since the second week of March, even before the central government issued instructions.
Some districts in Jammu & Kashmir started delivering dry rations at home on 25 March.
