Delhi govt starts distribution of dry ration as part of mid-day meals in schools

On Tuesday, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal kicked off the initiative and distributed dry ration kits at a school in Mandawali. Each kit handed out by the chief minister contained a six-month provision — that included wheat, rice, pulses and oil.

Delhi government on Tuesday started distributing dry-ration as part of the Centre’s mid-day meal programme among students of classes Nursery to class 8 enrolled in all government and government-aided schools in the Capital. The mid-day meal scheme, under which students are served cooked meals during school hours, had been disrupted due to the closure of educational institutions since March because of the Covid-19 pandemic. There are around 800,000 students who will receive such ration kits.

The dry ration will be provided every month from January 2021. (HT photo)

On Tuesday, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal kicked off the initiative and distributed dry ration kits at a school in Mandawali. Each kit handed out by the chief minister contained a six-month provision — that included wheat, rice, pulses and oil.

“The last nine months have been extremely difficult, and our troubles might not end soon. But till the time the a vaccine comes, we have to find solutions... During the lockdown, we tried to provide an allowance in place of the mid-day meals in the bank accounts of students. But now we are starting redistribution of dry-ration among students. Each student will be provided adequate ration for a period of 6 months, July 2020 to December 2020, in order to provide proper nutrition,” Kejriwal said, adding that the scheme will continue till the schools reopen.

The dry ration will be provided every month from January 2021.

Central government’s mid-day meal scheme, which aims to provide food security to children from economically weaker families and increase enrolment in public schools, is channelised through state governments.

According to a senior official at the Directorate of Education (DoE), the amount of dry ration being provided per day for primary students (up to class 5th) will be 145 gram. It will be 217 gms for upper primary students (classes 6 to 8). “Thus, the total weight of dry ration kit being provided for 6 months period is 20.175 kg for primary students and 30.383 kg for upper primary students. The calculation of dry ration has been done as per days of the school calendar. Students will be provided ration on a monthly basis from January onwards,” the official said.

Delhi education minister Manish Sisodia, who was also present during the launch of the initiative, said, “The non-availability of mid-day meals due to the closure of schools has been a challenge. There were many families who were finding it hard to put enough food on their plates. Massive unemployment due to Covid-19 has aggravated the issue. On the directions of CM Kejriwal, we experimented by transferring money directly to the students’ accounts. It was the CM’s idea that it’s better to distribute ration rather than transferring money. Hence, we are now providing dry ration to more than 8 lakh students in government and government-aided schools in Delhi.”

Parents of several students enrolled in government schools, lauded the initiative. Kulsum Khatun, who works as a labourer and is a resident of Jagdamba camp in Sheikh Sarai, , said, “We are happy that the government decided to give ration in place of allowance. I have received a call from the school of my two daughters. I will go on Wednesday and collect their kits. We had struggled to provide nutritious food to them in the last nine months. We can still get wheat and rice, but pulses are expensive to include in our daily diet.”

Head of school at Sarvodaya Co-ed Vidyalaya, Rohini, Awadesh Kar Jha said, “We had received kits for primary students two days back following which we informed their parents. At least 450 parents collected dry-ration kits for their children on Tuesday from our school.”

Amrita Johri of social organisation Delhi Rozi Roti Adhikar Abhiyan, said, “We welcome the government’s decision of distributing dry ration in place of the mid-day meal allowance. Many people are struggling to afford daily meals and something as essential as milk for their families amid the pandemic. The government must give grains in adequate amounts to the students. They should also include eggs in these kits to provide proper nutrition to the students. We have been demanding the addition of eggs, milk, and fruits in the mid-day meals.”