'ISKCON's programme has shown results'

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE, NOV. 10. The Akshayapatra Annadana programme implemented by the ISKCON in several schools in the State under which children are given free mid-day meals has resulted in their improved attendance, "increased attention" and academic development, according to Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa, chief of the ISKCON, Bangalore centre.

Replying to a felicitation by the Chief Minister, Mr. S.M.Krishna, at Raichur on Friday, he said a study report of the Education Department said the free mid-day meal had a great impact on school children, and 99.6 per cent of the beneficiaries felt that they paid better attention towards their studies. He added that 93.8 per cent of the teachers felt that there was an overall academic improvement in the students.

Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa said that 91.8 per cent of the teachers felt that the attendance of the students had improved. In the current academic year, 16 schools had reported a 15 per cent increase in enrolment. The mid-day meal programme had addressed two of the most debilitating problems--hunger and education.

The Home Minister, Mr. Mallikarjuna Kharge, the Minister for Public Works, Mr. Dharam Singh, and the Education Minister, Mr. H.Viswanath, were present. The ISKCON, Bangalore Centre, which provided mid-day meals to over 19,000 children planned to help 30,000 children daily, Sri Dasa said and added that it required Rs.30 lakh a month to sustain the present programme.

Specially thanking philanthropists and organisations in the State, he said each donor paid Rs.12,000 to feed one child for a whole year. He said the ISKCON`s aim was to make Bangalore Rural District a hunger-free district, "which had 2,50,000 children, who were hungry."

Requesting the Chief Minister to introduce a programme to provide mid-day meal to all poor children in the State, Sri Dasa said that this should be done even at the expense of an infrastructure project or by levying taxes.

Recalling his discussions with the Union Food and Civil Supplies Minister, Mr. Shanta Kumar, he said the minister said he could release foodgrains to NGOs for implementing such programmes for high school children, if the State Government requested the Centre to do so.

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Section  : Southern States
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