Morena (Madhya Pradesh): A mid-dal meal served to students at a government school in Madhya Pradesh has once again sparked a debate about the food quality. A video recently surfaced on social media showing absolutely poor quality of meal-- watery dal and soyabean gravy, half-cooked chapatis, being served to students at a government primary school in Morena.
Watch the video below :
The school is in Sualal Ka Pura, about 2 km from the district panchayat headquarters, students are refusing to eat the mid-day meal because of its extremely poor quality.
Children complained the food is so tasteless and badly prepared that they often throw it to dogs instead of eating it.
Locals claim this problem has been happening not just for days, but for several months.
During an inspection on Thursday, soyabean badi sabzi was served, but it was so watery that it looked like badi dropped in plain water. The rotis were dry and hard like papad.
Students from Class 4 and 5 said the food always comes undercooked — dals and sabzis are watery and raw, and rotis are uncooked and hard.
A woman staff member who serves the meals at the school said the food arrives directly from the self-help group and she only has to distribute it.
She added that she has complained many times, but no action has been taken. Instead, she is scolded when she raises the issue.
Headmaster Ramdeen Gurjar confirmed that the quality of the mid-day meal has been bad for a long time. He said he has complained several times to the group responsible for supplying the food, and also informed senior officials when nothing improved.
Another staff member, Baikunthi Bai, who has been working at the school for eight years, said the same group has been sending the meal for years and the quality has always been poor.
According to her, when she complains, she is told, “Should I cook the food at home and bring it?”
The meal is supplied by the Pushpak Mahila Self-Help Group, which has been getting the tender for years. But even as the quality keeps falling, the tender is still being awarded to them, raising serious questions.
District Education Officer Sudhir Saxena said the matter has been taken seriously.
He has ordered an inquiry by the DPC, and action will be taken against the group once the investigation is complete.
