This time next year, 35,000 children studying in various government schools located in Gandipet, Kokapet, Poppalguda, and surrounding areas in Rangareddy district can savour tasty and hygienic food, thanks to brand Akshaya Patra. The foundation stone was laid on an 1.5-acre land in Narsingi for the construction of a technologically-advanced kitchen that would serve mid-day meals to thousands of children.
The kitchen, which will be operational from next academic year, can prepare rice for 1,000 children in just 15 minutes and sambar for 2,000 people in two hours.
Not just that, the kitchen will also provide direct and indirect employment to around 500 people. The new facility is coming up with the support of funding to the tune of Rs 10.5 crore by The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. as part of its CSR initiative. The upcoming kitchen will be the 26 such facility of the Akshaya Patra Foundation in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Speaking at the stone-laying ceremony, the chairman of the Akshaya Patra Foundation, Madhu Pandit Dasa, said that from feeding 1,500 children in 2000, the foundation now provides food to 15 lakh children on a daily basis. “Our target is to feed 5 million children every day by 2020,” he said. “By providing nutritious food, we are not only supporting the children’s education but also making the child a capable citizen who can contribute to the country,” he said.
“We are trying to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor. There are 120 million school children in this country, and if any of them do not get proper food then it is a shame to the countrymen.”
He said that the foundation was leveraging modern technology in its kitchen to prepare high-quality food, and they plan to start another kitchen on the outskirts of Hyderabad in three months.
According to the members of the foundation, they are spending Rs. 60 lakh every day for the initiative, even after financial support from the government. Presently, the organisation is doing similar work in 12 States.
The chief guest of the programme, Justice C.V. Nagarjuna Reddy, said that hunger was a universal programme and lauded the gesture of the Japan-based company to support the noble activity that is benefiting the underprivileged children in India.
