NEW DELHI, Aug 15 – Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the country’s mid-day meal scheme will be reformed to ensure hygiene and nutritious meals are provided to school children, Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.
“The Mid-day Meal scheme will be reformed. Meals provided to our children should be nutritious and hygienically cooked. We will take concrete measures to ensure this,” Manmohan said in his national address at the Red Fort on the occasion of India’s 67th Independence Day on Thursday.
A total of 23 children with the majority below 10 years old died after eating their mid-day meal at a school in Saran district in east Indian state of Bihar on July 16.
Cooking oil used in preparing the children’s meal was suspected to be laced with insecticide.
Under the government’s mid-day meal scheme, more than 100 million children across the country are provided daily afternoon meals at school.
The Prime Minister said there is also a need to improve the scheme’s implementation.
“This programme is of immense benefit for both the education and nutrition of children. However, it is necessary to improve its implementation. The tragedy that happened in Bihar should not be repeated anywhere in the country,” he said.
– BERNAMA
