Roti And Salt For School Kids But Jute Coats For Cows In UP. Priorities Speak For Themselves

Remember the video of school kids eating rotis and salt under a flagship scheme of the central government in eastern Uttar Pradesh's Mirzapur district?

This clip is from a @UPGovt school in east UP's #Mirzapur . These children are being served what should be a 'nutritious' mid day meal ,part of a flagship govt scheme .On the menu on Thursday was roti + salt !Parents say the meals alternate between roti + salt and rice + salt ! pic.twitter.com/IWBVLrch8A

¡ª Alok Pandey (@alok_pandey) August 23, 2019

The journalist who had recorded that video was charged for conspiracy to defame the Uttar Pradesh government. In the video that had gone viral, school children could be seen sitting on the floor and eating roti and salt as part of their mid-day meal. The Uttar Pradesh Mid Day Meal Authority website, on the other hand, has a menu that includes pulses, vegetables, rice and rotis, along with fruits and milk, to be served to students.

BCCL/ FILE

This was not the first instance of such kind in Uttar Pradesh. Another purported video showed school children being fed rice and turmeric for the same mid-day meal scheme. We should remember that the Mid-day meal scheme was introduced to provide nutritious meals to children attending public schools. These were also aimed at increasing attendance in the school.

As we know, India is one of the most poorly fed countries. India was, in fact, ranked 102 out of 117 countries in terms of severity of hunger, according to the Global Hunger Index 2019. With a score of 30.3, India suffers from a level of hunger that is serious, the GHI report noted.

It said that when it comes to infants aged six months to 23 months, only 9.6 percent of them in India are fed a "minimum acceptable diet". This means that less than 10 percent of the infants in India are properly fed.

So what should be the priority of the government?

The Indian Express has reported that the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh is making preservation of cows its priority. Reportedly, the Ayodhya Municipal Corporation has ordered the making of jute coats for 1,200 cattle at its cow shelter.

¡°Generally, cows are given jute bags to save them from cold. But they keep falling off. So we thought of getting coats stitched for the cows. We are first going to get a few samples made of such coats. If they work, we will order more. A farmer, Rajju Pandey, has been given the contract to get these coats stitched,¡± Mayor Rishikesh Upadhyay, a BJP leader, was quoted as saying.

FILE PHOTO

According to officials, the Corporation¡¯s cow shelter is located at Baishingpur village, 16 km from Ayodhya town, and currently houses around 1,200 cattle. These include about 700-800 bulls while the remaining are cows and calves.

We understand that animals have it rough during the winter. There is no denying that they cope up with numerous hardships as the churlish chidings of the winter winds take centre stage.

But look a little away, perhaps?

The cattle in animal shelters are the protected lot and there are numerous animals on the streets who die during the winters. And beyond animals too, why not take a look at hundreds of thousands of the poor and the deprived in Uttar Pradesh? Why not take a look at hundreds of beggars who can barely afford decent clothing to protect them from the come.

The Uttar Pradesh government should also take the matter of its mid-day scheme seriously and look to fill the gaps that have led to the surfacing of images and videos which it is ashamed to accept.