The government is giving Rs.6 per egg. If you look at the price in the market, it is Rs.8.50. Students should be given 3 eggs per week. We are not able to buy at such a price,’ the midday meal agency workers are shouting.
- Egg prices hit record highs
- A gaggle of lunch workers
- Government is giving Rs. 6.. Price 8.50
- The loss to the agencies during the academic year is Rs.30.35 crores
- Agencies that cannot provide flat rates
- Workers want to revise prices
Hyderabad, July 24 (Namaste Telangana): ‘The government is giving Rs.6 per egg. If you look at the price in the market, it is Rs.8.50. Students should be given 3 eggs per week. We are not able to buy at such a price,’ the midday meal agency workers are shouting. Agencies are facing serious problems due to egg price burden.
Each egg in the market costs Rs. 8.50
Egg is the main protein food provided to students in government schools. Three eggs should be given to 10 lakh students in schools in a week. Recently the prices of chicken eggs have gone up a lot. The price of chicken egg, which was Rs.6 in the open market, has now reached Rs.8.50. In some places they are charging Rs.9 per egg. With this price increase, the financial burden is on the suppliers. Due to this the cooks are suffering a lot. Instead of 3 eggs only 2 are being offered to compensate for that loss. As a result, parents of children, student associations and local public representatives are protesting the mid-day meal agencies.
A loss of Rs.30.35 crore per year
In the form of chicken eggs, mid-day meal agencies and women’s organizations are facing a loss of Rs.30.35 crores. They are losing at the rate of Rs.2 per egg. There are 52 students in a school in Yadadri-Bhuvanagiri district. According to the calculation given by the government, chicken eggs are getting Rs.312 per day. Cooking workers are spending Rs.442 per day. This one school agency is losing Rs.130 per day and up to Rs.400 in three days of the week. They are unable to bear the burden of vegetable prices and egg prices. They are giving only Rs.3 thousand as remuneration to the cooks. In addition to the actual remuneration, the agencies are running into losses due to the inflation. Mid-day meal agencies have decided that they cannot provide eggs as per the old contract rates fixed by the government. The lunch workers are demanding that the egg rates be revised in line with MARET prices.
This is the situation
- Mid-Day Meal Scheme Beneficiaries – 10,55,756
- If you pay Rs.6 per day, the cost will be Rs.63,34,536
- Cost at Rs.8.50 per day – Rs.89,73,926
- Loss per day for lunch workers – Rs.26,39,390
- Loss in a year (for 115 days) – Rs.30,35,29,850
