The Hindu : Meal scheme runs into rough weather

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jan 03, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh

Meal scheme runs into rough weather

By Our Special Correspondent

A student offering an egg to the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, at the launching of the mid-day meal scheme in Shadnagar town of Mahbubnagar on Thursday. — Photo: Mohammed Yousuf

HYDERABAD JAN. 2. Two prestigious programmes of the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu — the mid-day meal programme and the 18th round of Janmabhoomi — turned sour at their high-profile launch on Thursday.

The poor quality of food, which Mr. Naidu shared with the schoolboys in Shadnagar town in Mahabubnagar district, and the fact that at least 60 of the children had to go without it left the Chief Minister embarrassed and fuming at the inept handling of the major event by officials.

Elsewhere, the Rs. 250 crore programme ran into rough weather as children were taken ill in Sathupalli in Khammam district, 4 mandals in Nalgonda district, some places in Anantapur and Kurnool districts and in Guntur city, after eating improperly cooked food or as in some cases, like Peddakollivalasa in LNpet mandal of Srikakulam district, where kids were not allowed to participate because it was cooked by self-help groups consisting of Dalits.

Naxalite violence marred the Janmabhoomi function in Guntur district where the PW men abducted the Mandal Revenue Officer of Bellamkonda and three other officials after failing to blast the jeep they were travelling in. ( They were later released).The extremists struck elsewhere too, killing K. Lakshminarayana, a TDP leader, at Gambhirpur village in Karimnagar district and blasting the house of another TDP leader and mandal president, E. Rameshwar Rao, in Mulug, Ghanpur mandal of Warangal district. The Janmabhoomi programme was boycotted in some areas in Guntur, Krishna and other districts on local issues.

In a fine gesture, C. Rangarajan, who is laying down office as Governor on Friday, and his wife, Haripriya, joined schoolkids in Kavidipally village, near here, saying "we have stayed back here just for this.''

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