BENGALURU: Although a large number of mid day meal workers boycotted work and staged protests in Bengaluru and elsewhere in the state, service of food to students in government schools remained unaffected — thanks to teachers, parents and NGOs who rose to the occasion to ensure that the children did not starve. However, the indefinite protest (which was called off on Friday evening), brought anxiety among the teaching fraternity and parents as they were forced to make alternative arrangements to ensure the children were fed.
The New Indian Express reporters in the districts checked schools and found that lunch was being served to children owing to the efforts of teachers, members of School Development and Monitoring Committee (SDMC) and a few NGOs.
Schools in Bengaluru, however, were not affected as Akshaya Patra Foundation of ISKCON and Adamya Chetana served mid day meals as they always do. In a few places, teachers cooked food with the help of SDMC members and in some places, parents themselves cooked and supplied food. However, there were no major disruptions in food supply in the state.
In Mangaluru, teachers served food to children, while ISKCON supplied lunch to schools. In Belagavi and Chikkodi, Akshara Dasoha Federation came to the rescue of students. Besides, the Education Department had also made arrangements by hiring private cooks.
Belagavi DDPI AB Pundalik said about 90 per cent of the schools in towns and nearby villages were being supplied ready food through agencies and in schools located in remote villages food was cooked by Akshara Dasoha-deployed cooks.
In Kolar and Chikkballapur districts, parents of students joined hands with teachers to cook at a number of schools.
Wedding Of A School Alumni Saves The Day
When Express visited Lakshmi Venkatesh Prasanna (LVP) Higher Primary School in Puttur on Friday to do a reality check, they found that an alumni had supplied lunch to the children. There are 241 children in this school. As there was a wedding of an alumni of this school, and he supplied lunch to the kids.