Construct school kitchen sheds: NHRC

Bhubaneswar: The NHRC has directed the Odisha government to construct kitchen sheds in all its primary schools, a petitioner said on Wednesday. In response to a petition filed by human rights campaigner Akhand, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has ordered the state government to complete the kitchen sheds within a time frame. The petitioner alleged that over 10,000 schools in the state do not have kitchen sheds to cook mid-day meals. As a result, the children are constantly exposed to the risk of food poisoning and other health hazards. In its reply to the commission, the state nodal officer for the mid-day meals communicated that about 10,000 sheds could not be completed for paucity of funds. "The commission hopes the government of Odisha will take necessary steps in this regard," it said.