– Mita Mukherjee

The Bengal government will continue to serve boiled eggs to students studying in state-aided schools in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation area as part of the midday meal, along with vegetarian food, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said on Wednesday.

As announced earlier, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) will provide the vegetarian food, the chief minister said at a programme held at the state secretariat for distributing Composite Grants to government schools.

“ISKCON will provide pure satvik, protein-rich vegetarian meals from August 1. Along with that, we are making arrangements to provide boiled eggs to students to ensure they eat wholesome meals. The eggs will be provided by the self-help groups,” Adhikari said.

The government’s decision to engage ISKCON to provide midday meals in schools had raised concerns among many because the organisation serves only vegetarian food. The decision to eliminate eggs from the meals triggered criticism from a large section of people in the state, who described it as a move to serve only vegetarian meals in schools, which they said was in line with the Hindutva agenda to promote vegetarianism. Many questioned whether children would receive sufficient protein if eggs were dropped from the meals.

Opposition parties, including the Left, have been campaigning against the decision.

The BJP government’s decision to engage ISKCON to provide the midday meal has been challenged twice in the High Court.

Adhikari said the state government had removed the disparities in PM Poshan.

“We have increased the allocation to Rs 10 at the primary level,” he said.

He said that after ISKCON was entrusted with the task of providing meals, a section of guardians had requested him to include eggs in the midday meal.

The government has allocated land in Taratala to the ISKCON Annamrita Food Relief Foundation for setting up the master kitchen. Preparations are under way to begin cooking only vegetarian meals from August 1.

More than two lakh children studying in nearly 1,900 schools are served midday meals in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation area.

The government had said it planned to gradually introduce the new system in schools across the districts.

Students in Bengal were provided eggs once a week. On the remaining days of the week, they were served rice, dal and potato curry.