Amid reports of incidents of food poisoning in government schools, the Telangana government on Thursday formed separate committees to ensure the safety of food served to students. Taking serious note of such incidents, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy directed district collectors to conduct regular inspections in state-run educational institutions to ensure that there is no negligence in providing hygienic food to students.
Expressing displeasure over the incidents of students falling ill after consuming food despite his many instructions, the CM warned that if negligence is proved, the government will not hesitate in dismissing the employees responsible for it. State Panchayat Raj Minister D Anasuya Seethakka expressed suspicion that there could be conspiracies behind the ‘food poisoning’ incidents and vowed to expose them.
State Chief Secretary Shanti Kumari has decided to constitute a three-member ‘Task Force Committee’ to ensure the safety of food distributed in all state-run institutions, including schools, welfare hostels, residential schools, hospitals and Anganwadi centers run under the departments. Orders issued. Scheduled Caste Development, Tribal, Backward Class, Minority Welfare and others.
The ‘Task Force Committee’ will include the Food Safety Commissioner/Food Safety Officer, Head of Department (HOD)/Additional Director of the concerned institute and district level officers of the concerned institute. The orders issued by the Chief Secretary said that the committee should visit and investigate all food safety incidents reported in any institution, identify the causes and fix responsibility against individuals and agencies.
The Chief Secretary issued a separate order to constitute institution-level food safety committees to monitor the cooking and serving of food to prevent food contamination and food-borne diseases.
The committee will consist of the Head of the Institute (Head Master/Principal) and two other staff members working in the Institute. The order said the panel will inspect the store room and kitchen before cooking each meal and ensure the quality and hygiene of the provisions in the kitchen room.
The order said committee members should taste the food after preparation of each meal to check the quality of the food before serving it to children.
It said the committee should take photographs of these activities and keep them on record until the ‘nodal department’ develops a mobile-based app that will enable instant uploading of photographs taken at each institution. will allow.
Alleging that BRS is shedding crocodile tears over incidents of students falling ill, Minister Sitakka on Thursday asked whether any minister had met the victims when such incidents occurred during the previous BRS regime.
“We will expose such conspiracies… If any officer is involved in such conspiracies, we will file a criminal case and remove him from service,” he told reporters.
BRS working president KT Rama Rao on Wednesday said his party MLAs and other leaders will visit state-run educational institutions between November 30 and December 7 and study the conditions there. He alleged that the Congress government has put school education and social welfare residential schools in trouble.
The Telangana High Court on Wednesday sought a report from the government by December 2 on recent incidents of students falling ill after eating mid-day meal in government schools.
