Govt to hand South Goa disaster centre to Akshaya Patra to set up kitchen: CM

Panaji: Chief minister Pramod Sawant said on Monday that the Akshaya Patra Foundation will also be provided the South Goa disaster management centre to set up a kitchen, in order to expand its midday meals pilot project in the state. He made the remark while inaugurating the foundation’s first centralised kitchen in Goa at Saligao. Sawant said that in the pilot around Saligao, meals will also be provided to students of Class IX and X on a trial basis.
He said Goa govt association with Akshaya Patra is for the “long term”.
Sawant said that Akshaya Patra will supply 2,500 meals to begin with, to students around Saligao, without affecting the system of supply of midday meals in other schools by local women’s self-help groups. The CM, however, said that no new self-help groups would be added to the midday meal system.
He also said these groups will have to provide quality meals to be able to continue.
“For Akshaya Patra, it is not a business, but charity. Whenever a disaster happens, there should be a kitchen ready to serve meals. Those affected can stay anywhere, but a provision for food is important. The Akshaya Patra kitchen at the disaster management centre also ensures that a kitchen to supply meals to 5,000 persons within one hour is ready,” said Sawant.
Goa is the 18th state for Akshaya Patra and the 78th kitchen, set up at the cost of Rs 3 crore, with the help of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
Sawant said that the raw materials in the kitchen are stored at the right temperature and most cooking is automated, ensuring utmost hygiene and quality.
“Process of sterilisation is followed for utensils. So much sterilization is done only in OTs. The vehicles transporting meals to students ensure they remain hot, with a maximum difference in heat of 5 degrees C. The students studying around Saligao area will be the lucky ones to receive these meals,” Sawant said.
He said the Akshaya Patra kitchens also have inbuilt labs for quality checks.
“Quality of education is also seen improving when the children get good food. In future if there are full-day schools, we can think of meals for these schools in the long run through Akshaya Patra,” Sawant said.
Sawant later inaugurated the facility by serving meals to school children and sharing a meal with them.
Akshaya Patra co-founder Chanchalapathi Dasa said the facility in Saligao is equipped with a 600-litre rice cauldron that prepares 1,250 meals in just 60 minutes, and a 600-litre dal cauldron that prepares 2,000 servings in 90 minutes. The idli steamer produces 2,000 idlis per hour and the semi-automated chapati machine rolls out 2,000 chapatis per hour, ensuring efficiency without compromising quality.
Chapatis, batata bhaji, vatana bhaji, vegetable kurma, idli, sambar, soy chunks, mix-veg pulao will be part of the menu for Goa children.