New school lunch menu adds to woes of overloaded noon meal workers

The new lunch menu may be a tasty meal for school children. However, those making it are having a bitter experience, thanks to unfulfilled government promises.

- Aswin Asok Kumar @T'Puram

The noon meal workers from prominent unions across the state are in despair due to work overload and untimely disbursement of salaries. As per present rule in the state, one cook has to prepare food for 500 students, which is already a tedious task. Now, the new menu includes dishes that require more effort for preparation, like tomato rice, lemon rice, leafy vegetable 'thoran', cauliflower dishes and soya, a gargantuan task in view of the limited number of hands.

INTUC's School Pachaka Thozhilali Congress state general secretary Habeeb Sait suggested reducing the cook-to-student ratio or appointing additional cooks as a solution.