Saturday, 16 July 2022 | PNS | Dehradun
More than 15,000 students of 120 government schools of Dehradun district would now get their mid day meal (MDM) prepared from the centralised kitchen set up under the Akshaya Patra Scheme (APS). The chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami inaugurated the central kitchen of the Akshaya Patra Foundation, Hans Foundation and Education department at Suddhowala in Dehradun on Friday. The centralised kitchen is the 63rd kitchen of the APS in the country. Dhami also flagged off a vehicle carrying hot prepared food to the schools on the occasion.
Addressing the gathering, he said the project to provide quality nutritious food to the students has got started with combined efforts of Akshaya Patra Foundation, Uttarakhand government and Hans Foundation. He said that initially the scheme would cover 15,000 students of 120 schools but later the centralised kitchen would provide MDM to more than 35,000 students of 500 schools. Dhami said that the children are the future of the nation and every possible effort is being made for making children healthy by providing them proper nutrition. Lauding the Han foundation, CM said that it is doing appreciable work in the field of education and health. He also expressed his gratitude for Bhole ji Maharaj and Mangla Mata of the Hans Foundation. The CM also expressed gratitude for the Akshaya Patra Foundation for their service.
Speaking on the occasion, Education Minister Dhan Singh Rawat said that nutritious and delicious food would be provided to the students under the Pradhan Mantri Poshan programme. He informed the governments providing MDM to more than five lakh students in the state. Rawat said that the centralised kitchen at Sudhowala is the second such kitchen in the state that has been set up in the state with the help of Akshaya Patra and Hans Foundations. The first such kitchen is already operational in Gadarpur of Udham Singh Nagar district. The minister said that the state government is providing free education, books and bags to the students from first to class 12 and making every possible arrangement in the schools so that there is no problem in the studies in the schools. The minister further informed that free de-worming tablets were given to 22 lakh students and free health check-up of students would soon be done.
The CM also ate the MDM with the students and replied to their queries.
The founder of Hans Foundation Bhole Ji Maharaj, Mangla Mata, vice chairman of Akshaya Patra Foundation Chanchalapati Das, former education minister Arvind Pandey, MLA Sahdev Pundir, secretary R Meenakshi Sundaram, director general (DG) education Bansidhar Tiwari and others were present on the occasion.
