By  Bhupen Goswami

Guwahati : It a shocking revelation, it has come to light that Ghanshyam Sewa Samiti, a blacklisted NGO from New Delhi, is supplying mid day meals in the districts of Dhemaji, Sibsagar and Tinsukia.It has come to light that the same NGO was ‘blacklisted’ by the Government of New Delhi after DDE(East) reported that Ghanshyan Sewa Samiti supplied mud-day meals in SKV Vishwas Nagar, Delhi, on 9/07/2013 which contained worms, beetles, houseflies, and human hair and was not cooked properly when inspected by the school level mid-day meal committee. Thereafter, the said NGO’s contract was withdrawn by the Delhi Government. People of Assam will be shocked to learn that this NGO, which was ostracized for serving worms and flies to children, has been assigned to provide Assamese children in three districts of Upper Assam with supposedly nutritious food.Apart from Ghanshyam, other NGOs too have come under the scanner for serving food to kids that actually might be harmful for them. In a recent incident reported from Assam’s Nagaon district, a local NGO, Moonlight, has been exposed serving deplorable food items under the scheme. Videographic evidence shows that the students are being fed bland, dry, half-cooked rice, and dal that mainly consists of the husk of the grains. A teacher from a local school told mediapersons, “Moonlight NGO is serving below-par food in Nagaon, and I am utterly shocked and devastated as a teacher.

Children are the future of the nation, and nobody has the right to play with their lives. They are being served only water in the name of dal”. Meanwhile, the midday meal workers , allegedly beiung paid a paltry sum of Rs. 1,000 as salary each month, have staged protests against the government’s move to grant the food scheme contract to 15 NGOs. Out of fear of losing their jobs, protesters took to the streets of Nagaon district in Assam and raised cries against the Government. In Tinsukia too, protesters came out with utensils in their hands, as a mark of protest against the Government’s move.Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) general secretary and senior spokesperson Durga Das Boro on Saturday criticised the state government for not having a proper mechanism to monitor midday meal served in primary schools while seeking an inquiry into the quality of food served by the recently engaged NGOs. The government has handed over preparation and distribution of food to 15 NGOs, all from outside, from November 1.

Over one lakh midday meal workers in the state on Friday launched a protest against the move and on Saturday threatened to intensify it. Boro alleged that the strength and quality of the NGOs or its lack had been tested on the very first day of their service. In some places, students, teachers and meal workers alleged that the food was unfit for consumption. “The NGOs served unhealthy food to students on Friday. We are fortunate that no student fell ill. We demand a high-level inquiry on the quality of food prepared and distributed by the NGOs to the schools,” Boro said.He also questioned the government on how the Ghanshyam Sewa Samiti, a Madhya Pradesh-based NGO banned in Delhi for allegedly not being able to maintain the prescribed quality of food, was engaged by the education department in Assam. Boro stressed that instead of laying off meal workers, the state government should increase their remuneration. “The government must trust the local school managing committee, teachers and meal workers rather than engage NGOs from outside.Trishna Nath, adviser to the All Assam Primary and Upper Primary Cook and Helper Association, said midday meal workers from across the state will stage a mass protest in front of the state secretariat in Dispur on November 10. “Until our three-point demand is met, we will not negotiate with other alternative proposals,” she said.