| | | | | Murthy said, "When I visited their Bangalore |
| | | | | centre, I was pleased to see that the kitchen has |
| While education for the city's underprivileged | | | | really good hygienic standards. The cooks wear |
| children is of utmost importance, it is equally | | | | gloves, and cover their heads. The food is not |
| exigent that they get regular, nutritious meals. | | | | only tasty but also nutritious." She playfully added, |
| Recognizing this, The Akshaya Patra Foundation | | | | "There have been times when I have visited |
| (TAPF), a Bangalore-based NGO that operates the | | | | them unannounced just so that I can enjoy a |
| worlds largest privately run midday meal | | | | delicious meal." |
| programme, is planning to set up a centralized | | | | The NGO's entry into the city has its share of |
| kitchen in the city. It will cater to the city's | | | | hurdles. The foundation had been invited twice by |
| state-run schools, as well as to NGOs conducting | | | | the then-CM Vilasrao Deshmukh to set up a |
| child education programmes. | | | | centre in Mumbai, but since it was then quite |
| "What is the use of education when a child goes | | | | small, the project was not feasible. And now that |
| hungry and cannot concentrate in class?" said | | | | it is ready, the present rules stipulate that such a |
| Madhu Pandit Dasa, chairman of the NGO, which | | | | programme can be initiated only by women |
| feeds more than a million children at 18 locations in | | | | welfare groups, and not by general NGOs. CP |
| seven states. | | | | Das, TAPF's vice president, said, "Why stop a |
| "I have come across families who have sold their | | | | good cause on grounds of gender? Are there no |
| children's books so that they can buy a day's | | | | exceptions when the only purpose is betterment |
| meal," he added. | | | | of humanity?" |
| The NGO is backed by leading IT firms such as | | | | The NGO also at the short end of Mumbai's |
| Cisco and Mindtree, high-profile individuals and also | | | | exorbitant property rates, as it needs a large |
| common citizens. Sudha Murthy, wife of Infosys | | | | centrally-located kitchen to reach out to all parts |
| chairman Narayan Murthy, is one of the donors. | | | | of the city. |