Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said ISKCON will start providing vegetarian midday meals in Kolkata schools from August 1.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari joined ISKCON devotees during the Rath Yatra celebrations in Kolkata on July 16. He announced that the organisation will distribute midday meals in government schools starting August 1, later expanding to Nadia district and the rest of the state.
Adhikari said the move aims to ensure better nutrition for children from middle-class and economically weaker families. “The objective of the school midday meal programme is not merely to provide food but to ensure proper nutrition for children,” he said. He added that the programme would have no scope for corruption.
The announcement comes amid a public interest litigation in the Calcutta High Court over the shift to vegetarian meals. During proceedings on July 8, the government’s counsel stated that no official notification had been issued yet.