Proposal to build kitchen shed in 7225 schools in Bihar

Patna: Alarmed by death of 23 children after eating poisonous midday meal in a Chhapra school, the state government on Tuesday decided to build kitchen shed in 7225 schools, including in Saran district.

A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of state cabinet presided by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. A sum of Rs 1.5 lakh has been approved for building each kitchen shed, an official sources said. Out of this, state would have major share of investment Rs 90,000 per kitchen shed while Centre contribution would be Rs 60,000, they said. A total sum of Rs 110 crore would be spend on building kitchen sheds in 7225 schools, the sources said. The decision has been necessitated by tragic incident in Dharmasati Gandaman village in Saran district where 23 children died after eating poisonous midday meal on July 16. The incident which attracted nationwide criticism necessitated corrective measures and building of kitchen shed for maintaining hygiene in preparation of food was foremost among them. Midday meal scheme, a flagship nutritional programme of the Union government is in action in 70,260 schools of Bihar benefiting 1.30 crore children. PTI