Karnataka Govt's Move to Includes Eggs in Mid-day Meals Faces Opposition

Karnataka Government’s decision to include eggs in the mid-day meals served to school children has been opposed by seers of various mutts who threatened to launch a stir against the move. The government had included eggs in midday day meals served to schools in the state’s backward regions of Kalyana Karnataka and Vijaypura.

According to a Times of India report, opponents of the move argue that eating eggs is not in sync with the tradition of many families, and the government should consider including protein-rich vegetarian food in mid-day meals, keeping religious sentiments in mind.

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Sharing his concern, Dayanand Swami, convener of All India Vegetarians Federation, said that they were not against non-vegetarian food but school students should not be forced to consume eggs. He added that the government should give multivitamin vegetarian meals to protect the religious sentiments of children from vegetarian homes.

Dayanand Swami said that his organisation will be launching a protest against the move on December 20 to build pressure on the government for withdrawing the order. Or else, the government should set up separate schools and Anganwadi for children who come from families that eat only vegetarian food, he demanded.

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Local BJP MLA from Hubli-Dharwad West, Arvind Bellad, has extended his support to the protesting groups and seers. Bellad said that the government should explore options to improve children’s health and provide other nutrition-rich food items.

The demand to include mid-day meals in Karnataka has been voiced by many activist groups for the past several years. The Karnataka government in its November 23 order announced to include eggs in mid-day meals of government-funded schools in seven backward districts of the state where instances of malnutrition and anemia were relatively higher. This includes the districts of Bidar, Raichur, Yadgir, Koppal, Kalaburagi, Ballari, and Vijayapura.

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