Midday Meal Scheme: This district is behind in Chhattisgarh in terms of serving mid-day meals to children.

Jagdalpur Midday Meal Scheme: Chhattisgarh has missed out on making Chhattisgarh the first place in the country to distribute dry ration of mid-day meals to students from house to house due to closure of schools in the current crisis of Kovid-19 epidemic. Uttar Pradesh is the first to benefit 92 per cent students and Chhattisgarh is second with 90 per cent achievement. In Bastar district, Chhattisgarh’s ranking has fallen one place due to delay in distribution of mid-day meal ration. Except for Bastar district of the state, ration of 45-45 days has been distributed in three installments from April till now in all other districts.

Sukma, Dantewada, Bijapur, Narayanpur, Kondagaon, Kanker districts are ahead of Bastar in Bastar division by distributing 135 days of ration. In Bastar district, only 90 days dry ration has been distributed to students since April. Bastar had lagged behind other districts in the state in the second phase in the distribution of dry ration. The reason for this is said to be snatching work from the women self-help groups and school management who conduct the mid-day meal program and demand drought ration from the capital.

Three months ago, the Block Education Officers were ordered by former District Education Officer prohibiting distribution of dry rations for mid-day meals in the district and demanding distribution of ration from Raipur. After a month and a half of that order, children were distributed after the ration came from Raipur in Bastar. This time too, ration is being awaited from Raipur itself. Due to this, thousands of students of more than 2300 primary and middle schools in the district have not been distributed dry ration till now.

Schools are closed since March 13

Schools have been closed since March 13 in the Kovid era. On the instructions of the central government, the state government had issued an order for distributing dry ration for mid-day meals in installments of 45-45 days to school children. In Bastar district, for the first time in April, rationing from local groups was distributed by the schools for 45 days. After this, after the ration came from Raipur for the second time in July, dry ration was distributed for the mid-day meal. The ration was to be distributed for the third time in August but this could not happen here. The women’s groups operating the midday meal alleged that the task of the groups is to snatch away the demand for dry ration for midday meal from Raipur.

Ration will come this week. After this, the distribution of dry ration for mid-day meal to the school children will be started.