Akshaya Patra to supply midday meals to 5k students in Goa from April

Panaji: For the first time in Goa, Akshaya Patra Foundation will supply midday meals to 5,000 students from govt and govt-aided schools within a 40km radius of Saligao. The schools falling in Bardez, Tiswadi, Bicholim and Pernem talukas will be the first to receive the midday meals from the Akshaya Patra kitchen.

“Akshaya Patra Foundation has set up its modern kitchen at the disaster management centre in Saligao at a cost of Rs 3 crore. It will be formally inaugurated on Monday and will start supplying meals from April,” CM Pramod Sawant told TOI.

Sawant, who also holds the education portfolio, had said the quality of midday meals is not up to the mark and the initiative is to provide quality food to students.

Currently, most of the midday meals are supplied by the self-help groups and Sawant said Akshaya Patra would supply without disturbing these self-help groups. “The food will be supplied as per govt menu,” the CM said.

Education director Shailesh Sinai Zingade said state govt had invited bids to supply midday meals to 5,000 students and five agencies had applied. “Akshaya Patra Foundation was declared the successful bidder,” he said.

“In the first phase, they will supply midday meals to 2,500 students and the remaining number of meals in the second phase,” Zingade said.

He said there would be no discrimination between parent-teacher associations (PTA), self-help groups, and central govt-empanelled agencies in supplying midday meals.

Zingade said there is a proposal to supply midday meals to students of Classes IX and X, too.

State govt has notified the rate for the supply of mid-day meals as Rs 8 for primary and Rs 10 for upper primary.

In 2013, then chief minister Manohar Parrikar had first said state govt would engage Akshaya Patra to supply midday meals.

“The meals supplied will be of local taste. We may set up a few 100% hygienic kitchens as per their needs,” Parrikar had said. But due to pressure from self-help groups, the proposal was shelved.

The state education officials had visited Karnataka to observe the implementation of the Akshaya Patra scheme, popular for the hygienic meals supplied to schools by the foundation.