HYDERABAD: The fine variety rice stored at government schools to be utilised under the mid-day meal scheme has been rotting for the last seven to eight months as schools are shut in view of Covid-19 pandemic.
As the foodgrains are rotting, the School Education Department is understood to have directed the respective school heads to return the rice to the Civil Supplies Department.
However, the Civil Supplies Department officials are not ready to take the stocks back as they are damaged.
As per the data made available online by the School Education Department, there are 41,600 schools, including 20,980 primary, 7,688 upper primary and 12,932 high schools, in the state.
As the government’s decision to close schools was sudden, there is hardly any school with no rice stored on their premises.
As the details of rice stored at the schools are not available with the government, the State Food Commission has directed the Commissioner of School Education to submit a report on the stocks available at the schools.
When contacted, the principal of a school in Rangareddy district admitted that the rice was rotting. Speaking to Express on condition of anonymity, he said: “In the event of closure of schools, there is no one to supervise the stocks. In my school over 12 quintals of rice have been lying undisturbed since March. We noticed bugs and larvae when we opened one of the sacks.”
Stating that they had a stock of 70 kg rice at their school, another teacher from a primary school expressed concern about use of rice that is in an advanced stage of decay.