Several schools have decided to adjust their methods to navigate the LPG crisis. Many others have stated that they are capable of managing the crisis as they are currently in the transition phase leading up to the end of the term.
Nevertheless, during this time, teachers come to school to grade papers and prepare report cards. Canteens provide services to them.
“We are going to write to the distributor so that we get the LPG. We require around 10 to 12 cylinders per month. We had an internal meeting with the canteen personnel to take stock of the situation and to ensure that the canteen runs unhindered,” said Madhumita Sengupta, principal, BDM International.
In the absence of students, the canteen still caters to around 200 teachers, including CBSE examiners, every day.
At South Point High School, fried items have been taken off the menu.
“Fried items like samosa, puri-sabji are not being served. Instead, the rest of the items like sandwiches, boiled eggs and toast are being sold
in the canteen,” said an official of the school.
In most private English-medium schools, the new session will start in the first week of April.
Among state-run schools, some are managing with a curtailed menu, while others have kept a backup LPG cylinder.
“The mid-day meal that is served to 180 of our students requires about one and a
half cylinders every week. We are still managing. We are in touch with the self-help group which runs the kitchen. We also have two induction tops in our nutrition lab, which we will put to use if the need
arises,” said Sarbari Sengupta, headmistress of the Children’s Welfare Association High School for Girls in
Behala.
A school in Kasba, Tiljala Balika Vidyalaya, refilled a cylinder, spending four times the usual price.
“We require the cylinder in our nutrition and chemistry lab, and our higher secondary students are appearing for the practical exams,” said Avinanda Ghosh Dastidar, headmistress of the school.
The school provides a mid-day meal to students. “The school has a private canteen, and she is mostly selling ready-made snacks that would not require prolonged cooking and LPG consumption,” said a school official.
As the conflict in West Asia continues, several schools are concerned that the LPG crisis may persist, complicating canteen operations.