After authorities of Urdu Primary School in Malad complained that rice supplied was plastic, tests find that it had been simply fortified
Teachers say the rice is inedible
Tests conducted at a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) laboratory at the G North ward have revealed that the rice supplied to Urdu Primary School at Pathanwadi, Malad East, was not plastic/Chinese rice, but a fortified version of the grain. After the school complained to the Kurar police verbally and posted a video regarding the same on social media, the civic body seized the consignment and sent it for tests. However, the school might now have to face some trouble, as the BMC education officer has warned of action against the authorities for defaming them.
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The chool received the rice from BMC’s education department on September 1 and soon after distributed it among 450 kids. The school authorities had said that they received plastic rice and also less quantity of it, after parents complained regarding the same. However, BMC’s laboratory tests checked all aspects of the rice’s quality, including moisture content, foreign matters, damaged grains, weevilled grains, and everything has been found to be normal.
Speaking to mid-day, BMC education officer Raju Tadvi said, “Before supplying the rice to schools, we issued a circular saying that the cereal was not a normal one. This rice is fortified and made healthy for kids. In the circular we also mentioned that if any school had any doubts regarding the rice, they should get the quality checked at a BMC laboratory and only then accept the consignment. However, the school failed to do so and tried to defame the civic body on social media. Without verifying their claim, they said on social media that they received plastic/Chinese rice.”
“The school authority did not even check the weight of the rice before accepting the consignment. In the viral video they claimed to have received less quantity of it. It’s totally irresponsible behaviour on their part and we will take strict action in this matter,” Tadvi further said.
The school had complained orally to the Kurar police after parents told them that the rice was taking a lot of time to get cooked, and even after that it felt chewy. Earlier, the education department was providing khichdi to the kids under the mid-day meal scheme but due to COVID restrictions, they started supplying rice.
When contacted, school principal Shabana Shaikh said, “While we were distributing the rice, we found each sack had only 30-32 kg instead of 50 kg. Also, parents complained that the rice was of poor quality and felt chewy. The rice looks like plastic/Chinese rice. We even asked the parents to soak the rice in water for sometime before cooking, but they said it still didn’t cook properly.” School chairman Dr Azimuddin Sayyed said, “We don’t know about the circular because we didn’t get it from the education department. Our complaint was a genuine one. We complained after parents brought up the matter.”
400
No. of children among whom the rice was distributed
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