Hostels get fine rice, anganwadis left egg faced

Hostels get fine rice, anganwadis left egg faced
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One man’s gain is someone else’s loss. This adage is getting pronounced by the Telangana State government much to the disappointment of toddlers who may not know that they are likely to be denied their staple dose of egg a day. If this comes as a huge letdown, there is another section that seems to rejoice a decision taken by the government, also meant for students.

One man’s gain is someone else’s loss. This adage is getting pronounced by the Telangana State government much to the disappointment of toddlers who may not know that they are likely to be denied their staple dose of egg a day. If this comes as a huge letdown, there is another section that seems to rejoice a decision taken by the government, also meant for students.

Enjoying a full meal comprising of fine rice and vegetables is nothing short of a luxury for inmates of welfare hostels spread over Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts. If things go according to revised proposals, fine rice will be served to all 23,000 students staying in 244 hostels in the two districts. And that is precisely where the catch lies.

Kids having a meal at an Anganwadi centre in the city (file photo)

Fine rice will come at the expense of meals for kids up to the age of three. Government officials might dismiss it as a coincidence but NGOs and student bodies are not buying such excuses. While the officials of the welfare department are working round-the-clock to ensure that students living in welfare hostels eat fine rice from the New Year, the Telangana government has reduced the quantity of eggs supplied to anganwadis, which cook for children below the age of three.

The supply of eggs has been cut from one egg a day to once in two days, towards which a GO has also been issued. The women and child welfare department officials state that the decision was taken in consultation with nutrition specialists, who said that yolk will increase the fat content among children.

Meanwhile, the annual budget for meeting the welfare scheme has been reduced to a little over Rs 24.28 lakh from the earlier Rs 45.13 lakh. Currently, welfare hostels in the city are serving PDS rice that has more stones and worms than rise. “A team of our officers are currently surveying the hostels in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy as part of the plan to introduce fine rice.

We aim to find out the number of students living in the hostels and the quantity of rice they consume every month,” informed an official from the welfare department. Currently, the students from classes 3 to 7 are being served meals worth Rs 25 while eighth to 10 standard students get to taste meals worth Rs 28.

Recently, rice millers have agreed to the Telangana government’s plea to make available superfine quality rice such as BPT and sona masuri to all welfare hostels from January 1.

By:Aditya Parankusam

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