Eggs to be served separately in schools with ISKCON meals: Bengal CM
Kolkata, July 29
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday put an end to speculation and controversy over whether eggs will be served to students in state-run schools, where the International Society for Krishna Consciousness has been tasked with arranging mid-day meals.
The Chief Minister announces that students in these schools will not be deprived of eggs, which will be arranged and served separately by the concerned school authorities, in addition to the vegetarian meals served by ISKCON.
"The government has made arrangements to provide eggs separately at the midday meal. This will be effective from August 1," the Chief Minister tells media persons this afternoon.
He further says that as of now, the state government has made arrangements to provide eggs separately in the midday meal through self-help groups. However, he adds that the overall responsibility for distributing the mid-day meal will remain with ISKCON.
"The allocation for mid-day meals was Rs 10 in high and upper primary schools and Rs 6.78 in primary schools. We have also increased the amount to Rs 10 in primary schools. Apart from this, ISKCON will provide mid-day meals in a large part of Kolkata as a pilot project from August 1. ISKCON will provide vegetarian, pure-protein food. Apart from that, we are making arrangements to provide eggs separately through self-help groups," the Chief Minister adds.
The state government had been facing criticism since the decision was announced that ISKCON would be responsible for arranging mid-day meals, initially at state-run schools within the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) area and subsequently throughout the state.
Opposition parties and a section of civil society accuse the state government of depriving school students of protein foods like eggs to satisfy the Hindutva agenda of pushing vegetarian food in mid-day meals.
However, all those controversies on this issue came to an end on Wednesday with the Chief Minister's announcement.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Why the drama over eggs every time? First Tamil Nadu, now Bengal. Eggs are essential for growing children - especially from poor families who may not get enough protein at home. Glad the government listened to reason. But why involve ISKCON in government schools at all? Feels like unnecessary mixing of religion and education.
As someone who grew up in the US but follows Indian politics closely, this seems like a reasonable compromise. Both sides got something - ISKCON can serve their vegetarian meals, and kids still get eggs. The Rs 10 increase per meal is also welcome. Hope this works smoothly on the ground.
Government ka pet bhar gaya hai? 🤔 First they hand over mid-day meals to a religious organization, then scramble to fix it. The real issue is - should any religious group be managing government school meals? This sets a dangerous precedent. What next? Separate meals for different communities? We should question the system, not just celebrate the egg solution.
Simple solution: eggs separately, ISKCON handles the rest. Keeps everyone happy. The state government deserves credit for listening to criticism and finding a workable middle path. Now let's ensure the self-help groups actually deliver those eggs every single day. Implementation is key.
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