The Union government should restart the mid–day meal scheme in schools which was discontinued because of the pandemic, Congress president Sonia Gandhi said on Wednesday.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Ms. Gandhi urged the government to make available hot, cooked food to children under three years, pregnant women and lactating mothers.
She said the children, country’s collective future, have suffered the most as schools were the first to shut down and the last to re–open during the pandemic.
“When schools were shut down, the mid–day meals scheme was also discontinued. It was because of the National Food Security Act and directions from the Supreme Court that people were given dry rations. But, for children, dry ration is no substitute for cooked and nutritious meals,” she said.
The Congress chief said children and their families had to face difficult times during the unprecedented pandemic. “But now, as children return to school, they need to be given better nutrition. Mid–day meals will also help bring those children back to school who had dropped out during the pandemic.”
Ms. Gandhi also said that according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 2019–21, the percentage of malnourished and underweight children, under five years of age, has increased in comparison with 2015–16.
“This is worrisome and the government should make every effort to prevent this,” she said. It is her second intervention within a week during Zero Hour.
