A government school principal was suspended and the contract of a self-help group was cancelled in Madhya Pradesh’s Sheopur district after a viral video showed children being served the mid-day meal food on scrap paper pieces while some were seen eating off the leaf bowls on the floor.
According to officials, the incident took place at a government primary, which is run out of a secondary school campus, in Hullpur village under Vijaypur block.
Sheopur Collector Arpit Verma told The Hindu that the matter came to light on November 6, and the school in-charge principal Bhogaram Dhakad has been suspended and the contract of the self-help group revoked.
In the video, small school children are seen lined up and sitting on the floor outside the school building with food, including aloo [potato] gravy, being served to them on small newspaper pieces as a woman server is seen making rounds with a bucket. The video was made by a local man, who is heard saying that the food was being served without no supervision from the principal or a teacher.
The video sparked massive outrage on the internet with people questioning the quality of food served to under the flagship Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM Poshan) scheme to provide them with necessary nutrition.
