State food commission conducts surprise inspection in Koppal

Koppal: Karnataka State Food Commission chairman H Krishna and member Maruti M Doddalingannavar conducted a surprise inspection in Koppal on Wednesday, and flagged several irregularities in food distribution and record maintenance at Anganwadi centres and the district teaching hospital.

The team first held a review meeting with district officials before visiting Anganwadi Centre No. 2 in Ward No. 23, Gandhinagar in Koppal city. During the inspection, they examined food stocks, menu charts and distribution records for nearly two hours. They sought details about children, pregnant women and lactating mothers enrolled at the Centre and questioned officials on the frequency of inspections.

The commission expressed dissatisfaction over discrepancies in food distribution registers, including mismatched addresses and contact details of beneficiaries. It also flagged improper maintenance of egg purchase bills and absence of proper accounting for money withdrawn from banks for food distribution.

Later, Krishna visited the teaching hospital attached to Koppal Institute of Medical Sciences and interacted with the patients in the emergency ward to verify whether fruits and eggs were being supplied as part of the prescribed diet. The team also inspected the hospital kitchen, food storage rooms and stock registers, besides checking expiry dates on spices and other food items. Tender documents and records related to rice procurement were also examined.

Following the inspection, the commission chairman directed medical superintendent Dr Manjunath P Salmani to initiate action against the nursing superintendent over alleged lapses in supply of quality food to patients and to take steps to replace the existing food supply contractor.

DHO Dr Lingaraj, KIMS director Dr Vijayanath Itagi, FSSAI designated officer Alakananda Malagi, women and child development department deputy director Amaresh Havin and others were present.