The Opposition Congress party has expressed reservation on the implementation aspect of the proposed scheme of the Uttarakhand Government to provide milk to the students of Government primary and upper primary schools under the Mid Day Meal (MDM) scheme. The president of the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC), Pritam Singh said here on Tuesday that the party welcomes the decision to provide milk to more than six lakh students under the MDM.

He said, “We welcome the decision but the question arises, from where the Government would bring the milk? The Government should inform what arrangement it has made to provide milk to the students. Has it floated any tender for it?’’

The PCC president added that the scheme would meet the same fate as the Government’s claim to provide employment. He said that the ‘employment year’ was celebrated by the Uttarakhand Government last year but no employment was actually given by the State Government.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Uttarakhand cabinet in its recent meeting held at Almora had decided to would provide fortified skimmed milk to the students of classes I to VIII under MDM scheme. Under the scheme, 100 ml of milk would be provided to every student of class I to V once a week.

Similarly the students of classes VI to VIII would be given 150 ml of fortified milk.

In the fortified milk, extra vitamins and minerals are added which normally are not found in normal milk.  Typically vitamin D and A, folic acid, Zinc and Iron are added in the milk.

It is learnt that the weekly dose of the fortified skimmed milk would be provided to the students under the Chief Minister’s Anchal Amrit scheme.

The supply of this milk would be given the Uttarakhand Cooperative Dairy Federation.