The CPI-M’s trade union CITU of Tripura on Thursday protested against the privatization of mid-day meal in the State.
Supporters of CITU gathered before the Siksha Bhavan in Agartala to voice against the privatization of mid-day meal projects in Tripura government schools.
The State Government has decided to implement the centralized kitchen for serving mid-day-meal in schools in Tripura by outsourcing part of the mid-day meal service to a Bengaluru based private foundation that operates under the banner of ‘Akshay Patra Foundation’.
The foundation operates on a wide scale in 12 states including Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, and others.
Senior CPI-M leaders including former MP Sankar Prashad Datta who also is the state CITU secretary, former minister Manik Dey and others took part in the protest as they raised slogans against the privatization of mid-day-meal projects in Tripura government schools.
Datta said that Tripura is a pioneer in implementing of mid-day meal in government schools and it was during the Left Front rule in the year 1980 the then state government of Tripura launched this programme for children reading in class I to V in government and government-aided schools.
Later, in the year 1995 the government of India introduced mid-day meal programme in the whole country as a centrally sponsored scheme.
He added that the BJP state government has decided that the mid-day meal scheme will go to the private party and so the CITU is protesting this and demanded that it should remain in the hand of the government.
The former MP also apprehended that more than 12,000 workers who are engaged in preparing and cleaning in connection with mid-day meal shall be unemployed.