Rajasthan: Will Bal Gopal Yojna cry over spoilt milk?

JAIPUR: Months after lakhs of powdered milk packets were distributed to state-run schools under 'Bal Gopal Yojna', they are yet to be opened and served to schoolchildren as the state government is yet to officially launch the programme.

The Rs 476-crore scheme, announced in the 2022-23 state budget with the aim of adding more nutrition to schoolchildren's mid-day meals, has already missed two deadlines-August 15 (Independence Day) and October 2 (Gandhi Jayanti)-and 69.22 lakh students in 67,327 schools are still waiting for it.

Powdered milk in 5-kg bags distributed to schools since August have, in fact, become a cause for worry among the school authorities. In the absence of proper storage space and preservation methods, the unopened stock is in danger of getting spoiled. In fact, the milk bags have been damaged at many schools, said sources.

"I have arranged plastic drums to keep 12 bags of powdered milk of 5 kg each that I received on October 10. I was told to keep them in airtight containers till the next orders. The packets came with a list of dos and don'ts as if we are a professional warehouse. I kept them in drums with a layer of old newspapers. But I found during the Diwali break that one bag was slightly open, which meant it was unfit for consumption," said the principal of a government primary school in Malpura.

He and nearly all school principals are checking the packets every day to ensure they are safe from rats, ants and bacteria. Many schools standing in a dilapidated condition are struggling for proper space to keep the powdered milk bags. “The milk bags are kept along with MDM items like rice, pulses and vegetables at many schools, making it an ideal recipe for spoilage. In many other schools, the bags are stuffed in almirahs and trunks. It is not that they are doing this out of design, but the schools are just unable to preserve the milk bags for months without proper space and any training,” said an official of the MDM scheme. “We have distributed 2,373 metric tonnes of powdered milk to schools across the state so far. It is 95% of the total quarterly requirement in the state. The main advisory to schools is that they should keep it in airtight containers,” said Pankaj Bhootra of Rajasthan Cooperative Dairy Federation (RCDF).