Government has pushed mid-day meal employees to an uncertain future: SMSS

A CORRESPONDENT

LAKHIMPUR: Reaction against the government’s decision of engaging non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for cooking the mid-day meal for the students of Lower Primary (LP) and Upper Primary (UP) schools of the State continued in Lakhimpur district.

Regarding the issue, the Lakhimpur unit of Satra Mukti Sangrm Samiti (SMSS) sharply criticized the State Government. In a press release, the organization flayed the government by terming as ‘against women’s right, prestige and empowerment’.

The press release stated, “The government generally speaks in support of securing women’s right and prestige by empowering them, but now the same government has showed contradictory attitude in reality. The government which came to power with a promise of increasing the amount of remuneration of the mid-day meal employees, has now pushed them to a dark future. Whether the job of these employees will exist or not has become uncertain at present. Though all the LP and UP schools of the State are not brought under the NGOs, it is not mentioned in the memorandum of understanding inked between the government and the NGOs as to who will pay the remuneration of Rs 1,000 per month to the mid-day meal employees.”

The organization has noticed government’s ‘trick’ over the declaration, made not by the government but by one of the mid-day meal employees’ bodies, that the job of the employees concerned would not be abolished. The organization opined that the declaration should be made by a responsible representative of the government, not by the employees’ body. The organization further cast doubt whether the engaged NGOs would be serving healthy and quality food to the students.

Under such circumstances, Utpal Borah, the general secretary of the Lakhimpur unit SMSS, demanded the government to secure the interest of the mid-day meal employees and to take judicious step for the smooth conduct of the mid-day meal scheme for the sake of the students’ health.

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