Supply crunch may disrupt mid-day meals preparation in Ludhiana schools

Ludhiana: With food joints and individual consumers worried about LPG cylinder shortage, officials from various govt schools have also raised concerns about supply disruption affecting preparation of mid-day meals. Several schools across the district said they have been unable to book cylinders despite repeated attempts, even though they require a steady supply to cook meals for students from pre-primary to Class VIII. Most schools reported that they need at least five gas cylinders per month to meet daily cooking requirements, but the ongoing supply disruption has left them uncertain about how they will manage once their existing stock runs out.The mid-day meal programme, which provides daily nutritional meals to students, was mandated to continue even during the ongoing final examinations. School officials said that while they are following the directive, shortage of LPG cylinders has put them in a difficult position. Ludhiana district has 1,581 govt schools, all of which receive monthly grants to run the mid-day meal scheme. For Feb, schools received around Rs 2.77 crore as the cooking cost grant and an additional Rs 1.25 crore for salaries of cooks engaged in preparing mid-day meals. Schools also use these grants to buy LPG cylinders as needed, but with supplies disrupted, they fear the funds may not be of much help if new bookings cannot be confirmed.In the wake of directions from the education dept, schools across the district have submitted their monthly LPG requirements block-wise through Google forms. Ludhiana-1 block, which has 87 govt schools, has reported a demand for 500 domestic and five commercial LPG cylinders. Ludhiana-2 block, consisting of 104 govt schools, has listed a requirement of 328 domestic LPG cylinders and no commercial cylinders. In the Khanna-2 block, which has 86 schools, officials have recorded a monthly requirement of 145 domestic cylinders. Meanwhile, the Jagraon block, which includes 82 schools, has sought 148 domestic LPG cylinders per month to prepare mid-day meals.A primary govt school head in Ludhiana said the shortage has placed them under considerable stress. With around 500 students enrolled under the mid-day meal scheme, the school requires about five cylinders every month to prepare meals. However, the official said they had been trying to book a cylinder for the past two days without receiving any confirmation. The school needs a cylinder for the coming week, and the delay in booking has raised concerns about whether they will be able to continue uninterrupted meal preparation.Davinder Kaur, who is in charge of mid-day meals in Ludhiana, said the department has received instructions from the head office to collect LPG requirement data from schools on priority. She said schools have been notified to update their requirements through Google forms, and the process is currently underway. The information will soon be shared with the state head office. She added that so far, no school has reported a situation where they have completely run out of cylinders, and higher authorities are planning accordingly to address the emerging concerns.Raw deal for mid-day meals? Schools say the LPG shortage is disrupting their ability to prepare daily meals mandated under the mid-day meal scheme Many institutions report that despite repeated attempts, no cylinder bookings are getting confirmed The scheme must continue during final exams, increasing pressure on schools with limited stock Monthly grants for Feb included Rs 2.7 crore for cooking costs and Rs 1.2 crore for cooks' salaries Schools have submitted fuel requirements through Google Forms following education dept orders Block data shows heavy dependence on domestic cylinders, with some blocks needing over 300 per month A school head with 500 students says two days of failed booking attempts have raised fears of shortageMid-day meal in-charge Davinder Kaur says data collection is underway and no school has fully exhausted cylinders yet Block-Wise LPG RequirementsLudhiana-1 (87 schools):--500 domestic cylinders--5 commercial cylindersLudhiana-2 (104 schools):--328 domestic cylinders--0 commercial cylindersKhanna-2 (86 schools):--145 domestic cylindersJagraon (82 schools):--148 domestic cylinders