Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Thursday announced a scheme to provide dry food items including rice and pulses to students for school working days till the date schools reopen. This provision of providing food items seeks to benefit lakhs of students in the state. The COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown associated with it has led to the disruption of the mid-day meal schemes which were already in place.
The Tamil Nadu Government has not yet decided on reopening of schools in the state in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A recent tweet of the Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said: “As schools have been closed due to the spread of corona, an order has been issued to provide dry food items including rice and pulses to students for school working days till the day the schools reopen.”
கொரோனா பரவல் காரணமாக பள்ளிகளுக்கு விடுமுறை அளிக்கப்பட்டுள்ள நிலையில், பள்ளிகள் திறக்கப்படும் நாள் வரை மாணவர்களுக்கு, பள்ளி வேலை நாட்களுக்கான அரிசி, பருப்பு உள்ளிட்ட உலர் உணவுப் பொருட்கள் வழங்க உத்தரவு பிறப்பிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.
— Edappadi K Palaniswami (@CMOTamilNadu) August 20, 2020
Similar arrangements have been made by the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan too. Kerala Government had earlier announced a scheme to distribute rice and provision kits including nine other items like lentils, sugar, curry powder and salt to school children from Pre-primary to Class 8 in government and aided schools.
The Minister of Education too, on August 1, had informed that the students eligible under the mid-day meal schemes will get food security allowance in place of cooked food till the schools reopen.
