Balangir: District collector Arindam Dakua scrapped the central kitchen system to provide cooked midday meals in schools of Puintal block and under the municipality areas after the Krisnha Krupa Trust, which had been entrusted with the job, failed to live up to the expectation.

The collector, in his order, asked the school authorities to restore the practice of preparing it in the schools.

On Sunday, Balangir MP Kalikesh Narayan Singhdeo inaugurated the much-hyped mega kitchen at Bideisarda village to provide the cooked meal to 216 schools in Puintala block and Balangir Municipality limits. The central kitchen system was implemented from Monday, and on the very first day, the trust failed to provide the food to at least 70 schools. In many schools, food reached when the school authorities were preparing to close the school.On Tuesday again, the trust failed to provide the meal to at least 32 schools.

Then again on Wednesday, the problem continued as the trust failed to provide meal to 70 schools.

Such disorder on part of the trust put the students and the teachers in a lot of inconvenience. Many teachers and parents had complained to the district collector about the mess created by the trust.

Dakua, in his order to the district education officer, said it had come to his notice that the cooked meal had not been supplied to many schools since September 3.

"It came to my notice that the hot cooked food had not been supplied to many schools since September 3 ever since the task was assigned to one Krishna Kripa Trust. You are directed to restore the previous practice of preparing the meal at the schools," the collector said.

Balangir district education officer Subodh Dash said he had asked the education officers of Sadar and Puintala blocks to inform the school authorities to restore the old practice. "We have told the trust about the decision to nullify the agreement and informed the school authorities to restore the earlier practice," Dash said