Akshaya Patra, the world’s largest NGO -run
mid-day meal program, today started its centralized kitchen in
Nathdwara. 75,000 students studying in government schools will be
served mid-day meals from this kitchen. Union Minister for Road
Transport and Highways C.P. Joshi declared open the 32,000 square feet
hi- tech kitchen.
Speaking at the inaugural function, Union Minister
C.P. Joshi said the seeds of Akshaya Patra were sown 11 years back and
now it has grown as a tree. Commenting on the need to eradicate hunger
and promote education in our country the minister said, unless in our
country children are educated and healthy, our country cannot progress
in the right direction. He further added that to fulfill the
requirement of 50 crore skilled workforce younger generation has to come
forward.
During the occasion Union minister also expressed
interest that along with the mid-day meals the children should also be
given coaching in improving the English Language. Trustees of Akshaya
Patra who were present during that occasion readily agreed for giving
the proposal a new shape.
Responding to the minister’s request, Akshaya
Patra, Vice Chairman, Chanchala Pathi Dasa said soon steps will be taken
to implement the life skills programme in schools that will help to
improve English education.
He recalled, as a pilot programme in the year 2006
Akshaya Patra started in Nathdwara by establishing decentralized
kitchen model to feed 226 schools in the Nathdwara cluster and was
feeding 1500 students. He said with the opening of the new kitchen, in
the first phase all 443schools covering 32,000 students will be covered
under the mid-day meal programme. In the second phase the programme will
be extended to Nathdwara by feeding 75,000 more children. With such an
initiative Dasa said this programme has also created employment
opportunities for 400 people.
Chanchalapathi Dasa during his speech said Akshaya
Patra started its operation in the year 2000 by feeding 5 schools in
Bangalore and it is now covering 9 states feeding 13 lakh children. He
also said Akshaya Patra is currently providing employment opportunity to
4600 people across the country and its mission is to feed 5 million
children by 2020. Talking about the blue bus, Dasa said currently
Akshaya Patra is using 450 Blue buses to carry mid-day meals. In the
coming days to attain the mission we expect to further increase the
number of blue buses. Thanking the central and the state government on
whose partnership the mid-day meal programme is implemented, Chanchala
Pathi Dasa said all this was possible because of the unstinting support
of all our stakeholders.
Akshaya Patra trustee Ramadas Kamath during the
inaugural speech congratulated all the children on the occasion of
children’s day. He said Akshaya Patra has specifically chosen the
occasion of children’s day to inaugurate the event so that it reaches
the maximum number of students.
Mohan Das Pai, Trustee, Akshaya Patra Foundation
said he hope the meals that Akshaya Patra serve make the children more
strong and intelligent.
The event also witnessed the participation of
Rishikesh Gujjar who is the teacher of higher secondary school, Jagola,
Nathdwara and primary school, Kotariya who spoke on the kindness gesture
of organizations such as Akshaya Patra.
The Akshaya Patra unit president Jaganmohan Dasa
and the principal donor for Nathdwara project Shree Lalit K Tulsiyan
were also present during the occasion.
Akshaya Patra’s centralized kitchen at Nathdwara houses a special chapatti making machine capable of churning out 40,000 rotis
per hour. The facility also cooks Dhal and rice in separate steel
cauldrons; the cooked meals reach the children in piping hot condition
as they are transported in stainless steel vessels with air tight lids.
The hi-tech kitchen which is built at a cost of 5.5 crores was sponsored
by Lalit K Tulsiyan and Radha Devi Joshi foundation.
