It refers to welcome advisory by central government to states on 02.01.2018 to include milk in mid-day meal-scheme and other nutritional programmes to tackle high levels of malnourishment in the country at a time when country has now enough of milk.
But to prevent adulteration and water-mixing, milk should be provided in poly-packs rather than pouring it from containers. Poor quality of food provided under mid-day meal-schemes rather calls for packaged bakery-items rather than cooked food. Milk-giants in co-operative sector like Ámul’, ‘Mother-Dairy’, ‘Vita’, ‘Saras’’, ‘Sudha’ etc and Indian Railways Catering and tourism Corporation (IRCTC) can be assigned to set up bakeries in large numbers throughout the country not only to cater to demand under mid-day meal-scheme, but also to provide healthy food for general public. Or else, public-sector ‘Modern Bakery’ can be revived.
It will take care of common complaints of insects, frogs, lizards, rats, snakes etc found in cooked food that too of inferior quality supplied to about 13 crore school-children daily under world’s largest lunch-programme. Also it will take care of peculiar food-habits of a section of society where people do not take food prepared with onion and garlic.
MADHU AGRAWAL