A mid-day meal agency served rice mixed with chilli powder and oil to students of the Upper Primary School in Kothapally village in Kotagri mandal in the Nizamabad District of Telangana State.
This happened on Friday, August 2 and went viral on social media, prompting the District Education Officer (DEO) to conduct an inquiry. The school has 130 students studying in Classes I to VIII, stated a report by The New Indian Express.
Nizamabad DEO N Durgaprasad, mandal education officer (MEO), headmaster of Complex School and other officials visited Kothapally on Sunday, August 4, and conducted an enquiry.
One of the teachers, M Kishan, told the inquiry officials that several students dumped the meal after finding the 'daal' that was served to them along with rice tasteless. They complained about this to their teachers and two villagers present there.
Later, a few more students who came to have their lunch were served rice along with chilli power and oil by the mid-day meal agency.
The next day on Saturday, August 3, a few parents came to the school and picked up an argument with mid-day meal agency staff complaining that their children who had eaten rice with chilli power suffered from stomach problems.
The incident went viral on social media.
Mid-day meal agency organiser Susheela admitted to the officials that the 'daal' was overcooked and became tasteless. She said chilli powder and oil were provided to some students at their request. While admitting her fault, she accused the in-charge teacher of always complaining over trivial things.
The DEO told media persons that the agency admitted the mistake and tendered an apology. "We warned them not to compromise on quality of food and told them that a new agency would be appointed if the mistake is repeated."
Reacting to the incident, BRS Siddipet MLA and former finance minister T Harish Rao described it as distressing and accused the government of treating the future citizens of the country in an irresponsible manner.
He said the Congress government abandoned the CM Breakfast Scheme intended to provide nutritious food to students. "This reflects the Congress government's negligent attitude," he remarked.
He urged Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka to immediately respond by clearing the pending bills and paying the wages of mid-day meal workers.
Meanwhile, a government press release said that Rs 58.69 crore was released to the district education department for clearing dues to the mid-day meal agencies and Rs 18 crore more will be released today, Monday, AUgust 5.
