Government plans revamp: Bananas, puris now in school mid-day meal

Amritsar, December 29

Punjab government has decided to revamp the mid-day meals being provided in government schools across the state. The scheme will have a new menu with effect from January 1 as schools reopen after the winter break. The students will now get banana and puri, along with different dishes according to each day of the week. The new items have been added to the weekly menu. The authorities have been advised to make the menu applicable from the fourth quarter of the academic year. Students will now be able to enjoy meals that include black chickpeas, bitter gourd (karela) and kidney beans (rajma) along with kheer and beverages. While the communiqué received from the authorities has been shared with all school heads, the mid-day meal workers are miffed as they are awaiting a response from the government regarding their

long-pending demand of a wage hike. After the state finance minister announced to constitute a committee to oversee the demand for a wage hike by mid-day meal workers, the district unit members of the mid-day meal workers union have said that by introducing the new menu, the government has increased their workload while their wages remain in abeyance. “We have once again been relegated to the background after the assurance of our wages getting reconsidered. But with the new menu, the workload of mid-day meal cooks and helpers will definitely increase,” said one of the mid-day meal workers and a member of the district mid-day meal workers union.