Latest news with #AksharaDasoha

The Hindu
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Civil society groups stage protest as part of nation-wide strike in Kalaburagi
As part of the all-India general strike, a coalition of civil society organisations, including trade unions, farmers groups and scheme workers associations, staged a protest in Kalaburagi on Wednesday. The rally began at Jagat Circle, moved through SVP Circle and culminated with a public meeting in front of the Deputy Commissioner's office after a brief road blockade. The protesters raised slogans against the policies of the BJP-led Union government and the Congress-led State government accusing them both of neglecting the rights of farmers and workers while promoting corporate interests. The agitation was organised jointly the Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha, the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and Hasiru Sene, the Dalit Sangharsh Samiti, Welfare Party of India (WPI), Construction Workers Union, Agricultural Labourers Union, Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), Anganwadi Workers Union, Federation of Medical Representatives Associations and other like-minded civil society outfits. Speaking at the gathering, district president of the Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha Sharanabasappa Mamshetti demanded that the Red Gram Board be strengthened along the lines of the Karnataka Milk Federation to ensure fair procurement and market support for red gram farmers. He also stressed the need for including pulses in school meal programmes under the Akshara Dasoha scheme and called for the legal implementation of the Swaminathan Commission's MSP formula. CITU district secretary M.B. Sajjan criticised the Union government's labour reforms saying that they strip away hard-earned protections and force workers into conditions of economic subjugation. He emphasised the plight of unorganised and informal sector workers, including scheme workers, and called for minimum wage guarantees and better legal protections. Among the prominent demands raised are the enactment of a law to guarantee Minimum Support Price based on the C2+50% formula of the Swaminathan Commission, comprehensive farm loan waivers, immediate release of crop insurance compensation and a rollback of the Electricity Amendment Bill and other agrarian and labour law changes. The protestors also sought an end to the installation of smart meters for irrigation pumpsets, regularisation of land occupied by landless families and tenant farmers and a state-level minimum wage of ₹36,000 for all categories of workers, including scheme employees and contract labourers. They urged the government to reinstate the Old Pension Scheme and provide a monthly pension of ₹9,000 for all unorganised workers, while strongly opposing the privatisation of public sector units and essential services. A memorandum addressed to both the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister was submitted, outlining a range of concerns and demands.


The Hindu
27-06-2025
- The Hindu
Three booked for irregularities in Akshara Dasoha Scheme
The police on Thursday booked a case against an assistant director of Akshara Dasoha Scheme, a former manager at Karnataka Food and Civil Supplies Corporation (KFCSC) and a contractor on the charge of irregularities in implementing the scheme. Based on a complaint by Akshara Dasoha Education Officer Eshwarappa Neradagi, the Jewargi Police have lodged case against Jewargi taluk assistant director for Akshara Dasoha scheme Mahadevi Shivasimpi, KFCSC former manager Abdul Kareemullah and the contractor. In the complaint, Mr. Neradagi has said that all the three accused have caused a huge loss to the government by diverting and selling foodgrains worth ₹1.38 crore allocated under Akshara Dasoha for distribution to 163 schools in Jewargi taluk, which was revealed during a joint enquiry by the Education Department.


Time of India
13-06-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Govt high school uses hydroponics to grow food for midday meals
1 2 Mangaluru: A govt high school in Badaga Yekkar, which has a space constraint to have its own kitchen garden for midday meals, found a new way to grow food through hydroponics technique. Hydroponics is a method of growing crops in water mixed with nutrients. On a trial basis, they started with amaranth and lady finger and are planning to add more crops based on the success. "The 15-year-old school with over 138 students faced land constraints. The total land is around 50 cents, and we have fully covered the available land, including a small kitchen garden, where produce is used for Akshara Dasoha (midday meal programme). However, the produce was insufficient to cater to our midday meal, and to increase the produce, we had no land. Therefore, I decided to try hydroponics to address the shortage," said Anith Kumar, a teacher at the school. The initiative was kicked off with help from the eco club led by Ramya K, a teacher at the school. In the available land at the school, they have grown curry leaves, spinach and black pepper. The yield supports the midday meal programme or Akshara Dasoha. Kumar told TOI: "We started the process a few days ago, and results so far are encouraging. It was launched as a part of World Environment Day celebrations. The advantage of this technique is that it requires less space and uses 80% less water. There are no diseases to the crop, unlike those grown in soil, and the product output is higher," said Kumar, adding that pesticides are not used to grow the crop. Currently, they have sowed amaranth crop in two trays and lady finger in one. Kumar said they are expecting the amaranth crop to be ready in another 45 days. He said as they are doing it for the first time, it will be a trial-and-error method. The technique requires major nutrients of potassium, calcium, nitrogen, phosphorus, magnesium, sulphur and other micronutrients. The pH level should be maintained strictly while preparing the solution, Kumar said. Follow more information on Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here . Get real-time live updates on rescue operations and check full list of passengers onboard AI 171 .


Time of India
03-06-2025
- Health
- Time of India
11 DK schools discontinue eggs in midday meals after parent feedback
Mangaluru: The Akshara Dasoha office in Dakshina Kannada has allowed the discontinuation of serving eggs in approximately 11 schools following parents' disapproval over including eggs in their children's midday meals. These educational institutions, located within temples, Jain Basadis, or run by religious organisations, earlier communicated their opposition to serving eggs during midday meals. Initially, when officials from Akshara Dasoha received these requests, they declined to make immediate changes, indicating that such decisions would require parental feedback. Subsequently, parents submitted written documentation specifying their preference for their children to receive bananas instead of eggs during meals. Jnanesh MP, executive officer of Akshara Dasoha in DK, said that initially, the issue came up after the Azim Premji Foundation for Development, which, in collaboration with the state govt, implemented a six-eggs-per-week programme. During the inspection, they found that some schools they visited were not serving eggs even though it was mandatory. They were serving only chikki and bananas. "Following this, schools wrote to us to exempt them from serving eggs. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Mistura chinesa faz cabelo crescer e homem fica irreconhecível Resultados em 30 dias Undo However, we denied their request, communicating that it was not possible. A letter was written in this regard to the state govt, which denied that schools could stop it," he said. The govt asked to seek parents' opinion on the same and come to a conclusion. A consent form was distributed to each parent from these schools, who responded by saying no to eggs during the midday meal. Based on their feedback, these 11 schools have now stopped serving eggs and serve only bananas during midday meals, explained Jnanesh. Chikki has been removed from the midday meal menu across the state due to its adverse health effects. Meanwhile, the midday meals have started across all the schools in the district without any glitches. Jnanesh said that the total number of beneficiaries of this academic year will be known by the end of June, as admissions are still in progress. Also, a lot of migrant children who went to their hometowns are yet to return to classrooms.