NALGONDA: Hostel Welfare Officers (HWOs) of various hostels in the district got their act together after Yadadri Bhuvanagiri Collector M Hanumantha Rao took action against the officials of SC residential school in the district headquarters for not properly implementing the uniform menu launched recently by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy.
The government issued orders to all welfare hostels, KGBV and model schools to implement the uniform menu after the state government increased the mess charges by 40%. On December 14, celebrations were held in various hostels after the launch of the new menu. However, the SC, ST and BC hostel organisers state that the new uniform menu could not be implemented within two days.
The government supplies fine rice to welfare hostels but the groceries are supplied by contractors, an official press note said, adding that the monthly mess charges have been increased to Rs 1,330 for 3rd to 7th class students, Rs 1,540 for 8th to 10th class students and Rs 2,100 for intermediate to post-graduate students.
However, the officials are asking as to how it would be possible to implement a menu of five-star hotels at cheap rates. “The new menu states that eggs should be given to students five days a week, but a single egg costs Rs 7,” a HWO said.
Another HWO told TNIE that the new menu includes puri, bonda and chapati, but no welfare hostel has the required cooking material.
“Apart from this, the cooks in the hostels do not know how to make these foods and the government wants them to make it without proper training,” he added.
Members of the HWO forum told TNIE that in the new menu, the state government has not mentioned anything about the rate of the material required to upgrade the menu. “We submitted our concerns to the district collector on Tuesday,” they added.