UP schoolchildren eat roti-salt under mid-day meal scheme

A video of children being served salt and rotis in their mid-day meal at a government-run primary school in Mirzapur has gone viral on social media, prompting the Congress to attack the Uttar Pradesh government.

The video is of Siyur Primary School under Jamalpur block and it shows a woman distributing rotis and another woman giving salt to children as the mid-day meal.

Authorities suspended two teachers, apparently in an immediate damage control exercise.

It was shared widely on social media on Thursday.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra hit out at the state government on the issue, terming the incident 'condemnable' and said the facilities provided by it were becoming very poor.

Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) Pravin Kumar Tiwari said on Friday, "Report about the incident was taken from the Block Shiksha Adhikari, Jamalpur, and two teachers found to be prima facie responsible were suspended."

Tiwari said instructions were to provide the mid-day meal as per the prescribed menu and efforts are on to ascertain whether seniors were informed that salt and rotis were being served.

Those who have been suspended are teacher incharge Murari and Arvind Kumar Tripathi, he said, adding that the incident could be an outcome of a local rivalry.

Priyanka Gandhi, the Congress general secretary, tagged the video on Twitter which showed the children, sitting having roti and salt.

"Students are being served salt and rotis in mid-day meals in a school in Mirzapur. This is the state of affairs of BJP government in Uttar Pradesh. The facilities provided by the government are becoming poor and such treatment towards children is highly condemnable," she said.

As per norms under the Flagship Nutrition Scheme, pulses, rice, rotis, vegetables with fruits and milk on certain days are to be served to school-going children to ensure necessary nutrition to them.

The mid-day meal scheme is designed to provide a minimum of 450 calories per child per day, which should include at least 12 grams of protein as well.

These meals should be served to each child at least 200 days a year.