Representational.
Maihar: In a shocking incident, students of a government school in Madhya Pradesh's Maihar district were served the special Republic Day mid-day meal on scraps of waste paper and torn pages from old notebooks, instead of plates, PTI reported.
After video clips of the incident went viral, the district administration has ordered action, officials said on Tuesday.
The video shows students sitting on the floor and eating halwa-puri served to them on torn pages from old notebooks and books. The incident occurred at the Government High School in Bhatigwan.
The opposition Congress on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the BJP after the video clips went viral on social media, IANS reported. Responding to the matter, state Congress president Jitu Patwari said on Tuesday that Maihar’s incident has exposed the tall claim of the BJP government on mid-meal.
He slammed the government, terming the incident a “symbol of the failure of the system, governance, and human compassion in Madhya Pradesh.”
Referring to a similar incident that previously occurred in Sheopur district, where children were allegedly served mid-day meals on papers, Patwari said that, “such incidents are not only an insult to the children but also an insult to education, the Constitution.”
Citing the NCRB’s report, the Congress leader further stated that approximately 10 lakh children in the state are malnourished, and about 1.36 lakh of them are severely malnourished.
“This dire situation exists even though official figures from the central government have confirmed widespread malnutrition in the state, and the CAG report has clearly confirmed the nutritional food scam in Madhya Pradesh,” he stated.
The controversy emerged after a video clip of the incident went viral on social media, showing students sitting on the floor and eating halwa-puri served to them on torn pages from old notebooks and books.