Students perform to promote the midday meal at a school in Rourkela. Picture by Uttam Kumar Pal

Rourkela, Sept. 21: The school and mass education department yesterday organised an inter-school competition here to create awareness about midday meals.

More than 100 students from Classes I to VIII of various government schools took part in various dance, song and drama competitions to popularise midday meals.

Bhaskar Chandra Mohapatra, a teacher of Udit Nagar High School, who trained the students for the competition, said: “The winners of today’s cluster-level competition will take part at district and state-level competitions later.”

This was an effort on part of the state government to revive the midday meal programme.

In July, 23 students died in Bihar after having the meal. In the same month, 39 students fell sick at a school in Dhenkanal after having midday meal. Later, a dead scorpion was found in the meal.

Soon after, another dead scorpion was found in the midday meal prepared at a school in Hinjili. The meal scheme came under severe criticism following these incidents.

Consequently, the government decided to come up with various programmes, including this competition, to popularise the scheme among parents who had started to dissuade their wards form having such meals at their schools.

“Meals are cooked in a very hygienic condition in our school. We find it safe to have our food there,” said Roji Sahu, a girl who took part in the competition.