UP To Provide Healthy, Packaged Food To Malnourished Children

Packaged food will be provided to malnourished children in Uttar Pradesh soon, it was decided at a meeting between Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi in Lucknow on Tuesday.

Yogi Adityanath directed the officials concerned to provide packaged food material to malnourished children, so that these children could get clean, safe, balanced and complete food and the bane of malnourishment was eliminated.

Since much of such food was finding its way to open markets for sale, he also ordered that all such packets should have a "Not for Sale' stamp, so that this malpractice could be checked.

Mr Adityanath also apprised the union minister that the sugar mill in Pilibhit, which has been closed for the last 15 years, would be restored under PPP mode. All formalities in this regard would be completed soon, the Chief Minister added.

Ms Gandhi praised the Chief Minister for ban on illegal slaughter houses in the state, to which Yogi said that he was only ensuring compliance of instructions of the Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal.

He also informed Ms Gandhi that district magistrates and district police chiefs had been directed to inspect slaughter houses themselves and ensure that they were being run in accordance with the guidelines for the licences issued to them.

The union minister told the Chief Minister that the Forest Department should grow plants in cow dung pots made by machines rather than plastic bags and stressed that cow dung cakes (kande) be used at cremation grounds. The Chief Minister asked officials to study such machines.

Mr Adityanath also directed officials on the proposal mooted by Ms Gandhi for setting up of a State Animal Welfare Board and to make the state rabies free by controlling stray dogs.