The warden of the Centre-run Eklavya Model Residential Higher Secondary School at Pudur Nadu, near Yelagiri Hills, in Tirupattur has been suspended after parents complained about poor quality food being served to the students, who are mostly tribal people.
Tirupattur Collector Amar Kushwaha instructed the Project Officer for the Tribal Welfare Department to issue a suspension order to the warden, T. Ramachandran, after inspecting the school on Tuesday.
“A notice has been issued to the private contractor who supplies essential food items to the school, advising them to supply good quality products,” Mr. Kushwaha told The Hindu.
The school, run by the Tribal Welfare Department, has 498 students from three panchayats, including Pudur Nadu and Nellivasal, covering 37 tribal habitations along Jawadhu Hills. A few days ago, parents complained to district authorities that students were served poor quality food in unhygienic conditions, especially in the kitchen. They also said the campus did not have proper drinking water facilities.
Officials said at present, three godowns, one each in Tirupattur town, Ambur and Vaniyambadi, were used to store essential food stocks procured from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Department on a monthly basis.
An audit is also being conducted by an officer in the rank of Deputy Collector for at least four government hostels in the district every month. The commonly procured stocks from government agencies are distributed to all government schools, 31 hostels and over 900 fair price shops in the district. In such a case, poor quality food at specific tribal schools seemed doubtful, an official said.
However, officials admit that the problem of regular water supply to domestic areas, including schools and hostels, have been a challenge due to limited sources of water in the district. Construction of over head tanks (OHTs) in Tirupattur and Madhanur blocks will be completed in two months. Likewise, the combined water supply scheme will become operational by September, officials said.
Meanwhile, health officials in Tiruvannamalai said samples collected from an Anganwadi centre at Paramananthal village in Chengam after a lizard was allegedly found in the food, showed no signs of contamination.
“The food served to the children in the centre is safe for consumption. No traces of any contamination was found,” said B Kandhan, Project Officer, Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), Tiruvannamalai.
