Mid-Day Meals In Telangana Government Colleges Soon

The Telangana government will soon launch another social welfare program of providing mid-day meals in government colleges across the state, including degree, junior, B Ed, D Ed and model junior colleges, and polytechnics.

A delegation of the Akshaya Patra Foundation attended a meeting held at the Secretariat chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Kadiam Srihari, who discussed the key program with Finance Minister Etela Rajender, Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao, Housing Minister A Indrakaran Reddy and officials.

Another round of meetings to be held on August 3 is likely to formulate the guidelines, and Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao will take a final decision.

With this, as many as five lakh students studying in government colleges across the state will benefit, according to estimates prepared by the officials concerned.

The popular Akshaya Patra Foundation has come forward to implement the program. The ministers asked the foundation to prepare proposals and give three lists of food items with quality standards and nutrition information. The foundation is expected to eventually provide the actual food items, including pulihora, black rice, upma, korralu, jonnalu, ragulu, sajjalu and other items, and the ministers instructed it to get ready with the facilities and infrastructure needed to provide the food in 31 districts across the state.

The foundation was also asked to consult, if necessary, nearby hotels and messes to take their help. After getting the complete details and proposals, another round of meetings will be conducted in the Secretariat on August 3 as mentioned earlier, to take a final decision.

Education Principal Secretary Ranjeev Acharya, Intermediate Board Secretary Ashok, State Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan Joint Director Ramesh and other officials were present.