AMRITSAR: Mr. Vijay Dutt, Member of the Punjab State Food Commission, today conducted surprise inspections at various government schools and Anganwadi centers in Block Jandiala Guru and Block Rayya of Amritsar district. The inspections were carried out to review the ground-level implementation of schemes under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
During inspections at Balia Manjpur village in Block Jandiala Guru and Niranjanpur village in Block Rayya, it was found that in several schools the Mid-Day Meal Food Testing (Taste) registers were either not placed or had not been maintained for months. Moreover, Mid-Day Meal workers were neither wearing caps, aprons, and gloves nor following basic hygiene practices. Mr. Dutt strongly reprimanded the school authorities and directed them to ensure strict compliance with all prescribed rules. He emphasized that regular health check-ups of food handlers are mandatory and that both the cooking process and the serving area must be kept completely clean and hygienic.
Mr. Dutt instructed that children’s health should be monitored regularly. He also interacted with the students about the Mid-Day Meal program and personally shared a meal with them. It was further observed that in many schools, the quality of drinking water (TDS level) was not up to the mark. Taking note of this, Mr. Dutt directed that water quality must be tested in coordination with the concerned department and that safe drinking water should be provided to all children.
Additionally, in several schools and Anganwadi centers, the Punjab State Food Commission’s complaint helpline number was not displayed. Mr. Dutt ordered that the complaint and helpline number 9876764545 be prominently displayed in every school and Anganwadi center so that beneficiaries can directly lodge their grievances, if any.
Mr. Vijay Dutt stated that negligence in schemes related to children’s health and nutrition will not be tolerated. He warned that if such irregularities persist, strict action will be taken against the responsible officials.