KRISHNAGIRI: Thirty-two students of a Panchayat Union Primary School (PUPS) in Arulnatham, a tribal village in Madakkal panchayat near Anchetti went hungry on Tuesday as breakfast was not prepared allegedly due to shortage of rations as the cook had exhausted the stock.
According to sources, around 9.30 am on Tuesday, a Class 5 student told HM P Rajendran he was hungry. The cook, S Eswari, allegedly did not cook breakfast because she ran out of stock and assured the students to cook Pongal for them at her home. But she did not turn up and Rajendran bought biscuits and distributed it to students.
When contacted, Eswari, who lives in the same village, said, “When the breakfast scheme was launched in August, many cooks used large portions of rations which led to shortfall. I tried to cook Pongal at home, but my husband did not allow me to buy rations. Earlier I used to carry rice from my house for cooking. Also, Mahalir Thittam is providing Rs 1, 000 to buy vegetables which is insufficient and we need to take the stock from Karadikkal village, which is about four km away.”
Programme Officer in charge of Mahalir Thittam, Vandana Garg, didn’t respond to TNIE’s calls and text messages. Krishnagiri collector KM Sarayu also said she would inquire into the complaints regarding the scheme.
Later in the day, Thalli BDO Balaji and officials from Mahalir Thittam visited Arulnatham and held inquiries with Eswari and HM Rajendran. Balaji said offiicials from DRDA and Mahalir Thittam inspected the school on Tuesday evening and arranged a week’s stock of rations.