Bengal withdraws approval for Akshaya Patra Foundation to provide mid-day meals in 4 districts
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The West Bengal government has withdrawn its approval for the ISKCON-linked Akshaya Patra Foundation to supply mid-day meals to schools in four districts, reported The Indian Express on Tuesday.
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The foundation had been given approval to provide the meals to schools in Howrah, Purulia, North 24 Parganas and Purba Medinipur through an order issued on August 21.
On September 11, Paromita Roy, the joint secretary of the State Education Department, rescinded the order without specifying any reason, the newspaper reported.
The heads of several schools said that arrangements had not been made for the foundation to supply cooked meals in the districts, reported The Times of India. They also flagged difficulties in providing boiled eggs separately to students, as was being done in schools in Kolkata.
It is unclear whether the Akshaya Patra Foundation had said it would exclude eggs from the mid-day meals in the four districts. However, in states such as Karnataka and Odisha, the foundation has faced criticism from Right to Food activists for excluding eggs, onions and garlic from its menus in line with ISKCON’s religious dietary principles.
Mid-day meal arrangement in Kolkata
Soon after coming to power in West Bengal, the Bharatiya Janata Party government had empanelled the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, or ISKCON, to supply mid-day meals served in government and aided schools in Kolkata.
On its part, the...