A crore schoolkids to get tetra packed, flavoured milk soon in Karnataka
Bengaluru: Over one crore children studying in government and aided schools and anganwadis will soon get 150 ml of flavoured milk in tetra packs five days a week, as part of the 'Ksheera Bhagya' scheme.
The scheme was launched in August, 2013 by the Government of Karnataka in co-ordination with Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) to provide nutritious food with protein and fat which is essential for the healthy growth of school children as well as those in anganwadis.
Animal Husbandry Minister A. Manju told Deccan Chronicle that the department had already decided to supply flavoured milk to over one crore kids and modalities will be discussed in a meeting of officials on June 5. Presently, milk powder is supplied to schools and anganwadis where milk is prepared daily by school staff.
“We don’t know what kind of water they will add to prepare the milk and whether sufficient quantity of milk powder will be added to maintain quality and quantity. Nutrition value will be nil if the water content is more than the powder. In view of this, our department has decided to supply a variety of flavoured milk varieties in tetra packs at the earliest”.
The minister said around 74 lakh litres of milk was being procured despite the severe drought. The supply was more than the demand. But, the KMF was not in a position to convert the milk into powder due to shortage of plants and paucity of time. There was an excess of 10 lakh to 15 lakh litres of milk daily which was being sent to other states for converting into milk powder. Because of this problem, kids were being fed with 150 ml of milk three days in a week as against five days as promised by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the state Budget.
The five day schedule would be maintained strictly in the next couple of weeks by providing flavored milk in tetra packs to kids.
Currently, sufficient quantity of milk powder is supplied by KMF to all schools and anganwadis well in advance for enabling staff members to provide hot milk to students. Storage had been a big problem for schools as a bit of moisture would spoil the powder. Besides, there were complaints of pilferage. To avoid these problems, it has been decided to supply flavoured milk in tetra pack to ensure hygiene and nutrition.
Keeping them healthy
Beneficiaries: All school children from first to tenth standard studying in government and government aided schools.
65 lakh children in 51,000 schools and 39 lakh kids in 64,000 anganwadis are supplied 150 ml of milk per day on three days in a week.
The KMF requires 4.25 lakh litres per day to feed school children. Around 2.57 lakh litres per day for angandwadi kids.
Cost incurred is Rs 5.25 paise per child/day.
