Bathinda, May 27
Taking a serious notice of a report in The Tribune today on the quality of eatables supplied to the anganwadis, the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Rahul Bhandari, has stopped the supply of the eatables till their good quality is ensured. He has also directed the supplier to replace the entire stock within a week.
Talking to The Tribune, the Deputy Commissioner said he had also asked his BDOs, SDMs, and CDPOs to collect 15 samples of eatables from each block on a random basis by tomorrow evening. He had ordered the District Health Officer to get these samples tested at the food examination laboratory and submit a report to him by Monday.
The Deputy Commissioner said he had asked the Talwandi Sabo SDM, Mr Gurkirat Kirpal Singh, to conduct a probe into the matter to find out whether this irregularity was committed at the time of procurement or distribution. He said the eatables were supplied to these anganwadi centres only once in March and these were directly sent to the anganwadi centres.
He said the anganwadi centres of the district still had a stock of 15-20 days. The Zila Parishad had given the supply contract after inviting tenders through newspapers. He said a Zila Parishad committee had also been formed to keep an eye on the quality of eatables being supplied to the anganwadi centres.
Meanwhile, the Talwandi Sabo SDM, visited Raikhana village to investigate the matter. He recorded the statements of people whose children were studying at anganwadi centres. The parents of these children complained about the quality of eatables to the SDM. The village Sarpanch also made it clear that the eatables being provided there were rotten. About six anganwadi workers have handed over a letter to the SDM demanding action against the BDPO, Maud, for “misbehaving” with an anganwadi worker.
The Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr D.P.S. Kharbanda, also held a meeting with the CDPOs and the Programme Officer on the issue following the directions of the Deputy Commissioner. The SDM, Talwandi Sabo, also attended the meeting.
