Jharkhand: New mega kitchen in Ramgarh will feed 50,000 school children
The kitchen is being set up by the Bengaluru-based non-profit organisation Akshay Patra Foundation (APF) with financial help from Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) and Ramgarh district administration
FollowTo serve hygienic mid-day meals to at least 50,000 students of government schools in Jharkhand's Ramgarh district, a mega centralised kitchen is being set up at Keitha village, an official said. Hazaribag MP Jayant Sinha laid the foundation stone of the mega kitchen on Sunday.
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The kitchen is being set up by the Bengaluru-based non-profit organisation Akshay Patra Foundation (APF) with financial help from Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) and Ramgarh district administration, an official said.
Sinha, who is also chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on finance, said that the kitchen is coming up on 2.5 acres of land at Keitha village along NH-33 in Ramgarh town, some 60 km from the state capital Ranchi.
"The centralised hi-tech kitchen aims to provide fresh and hygienic mid-day meals to students, which will help fight malnutrition in underprivileged children and increase attendance," he said.
CCL has provided Rs 15 crore for the construction of the kitchen building. "CCL has also sanctioned Rs 7 crore under corporate social responsibility (CSR) for the operation of the kitchen for three years," said Balakrishna, CCL General Manager (Welfare).
A tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was recently signed between CCL, district administration and Akshay Patra Foundation for setting up the kitchen. APF has been servicing mid-day meals to a total of 21 lakh government school children from its 67 centralised mega kitchens in 12 states, including neighbouring Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh, said Vyomapada Dada, the regional president of Akshay Patra Foundation.
"Mid-day meal prepared in the centralised kitchen for each student costs Rs 13, of which government provides Rs 6 and 100 grams of food grain. The gap of Rs 7 comes from donors, especially corporate companies," Vyomapada Dada said.
Madhavi Mishra, Ramgarh Deputy Commissioner, said that the administration has handed over the government land to the organization for a cause to serve hygienic food to government school children in Ramgarh district, which would certainly reduce the drop-out ratio and increase attendance.Â
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