Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday served meal to a group of underprivileged schoolchildren in Vrindavan and praised the efforts of an NGO towards eradicating hunger from the country. The event was organised to mark the serving of the 3rd billionth meal by the Akshaya Patra Foundation. During the event PM himself served food to many children, in a video shared by PM in his Instagram showed him having conversation with some children.
“Ab dedh baj raha hain… Barah baje milna chahiye tha khaana. Der se aaya Pradhan Mantri, aapka khaana late ho gaya, haina? (It is 1.30 pm. The meal should have been served to you at 12 noon. The Prime Minister arrived late and delayed your meal, right?),” PM Modi is seen asking the children in the video.
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Had a good conversation with the children. They didn’t mind the late lunch 🙂 #AkshayPatra
In response, a small girl said, “Hum subah khaa ke aaye the (We ate in the morning and came here).” Later, PM Modi posted the video and captioned it saying, “Had a good conversation with the children. They didn’t mind the late lunch :)”
The menu was roti, paneer vegetable, choley, pulao, pakoda, sprouts salad and gajar ka halwa, a spokespeson of the NGO said. Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also joined him in serving food. Earlier, a few selected school students were given a box of Akshaya Patra-shaped dry fruits items on the stage by Modi. Rupesh, a Class 6 student, was thrilled to meet him, and told PTI, “Modiji asked me, if I was eating well and playing regularly or not? Also, if teachers were feeding us properly in schools or not.”
Had the honour of serving food to children in Vrindavan today. pic.twitter.com/Fs7esScQZA
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 11, 2019
3 billion meals is a remarkable feat!
Happy to have joined the programme organised by the Akshaya Patra Foundation and interact with these wonderful youngsters. pic.twitter.com/Elcy7pNBgB
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 11, 2019
Funded by International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), Akshsya Patra is a not-for-profit organisation that works with the government on mid-day meal schemes. The Bengaluru-based NGO has a state-of-the-art kitchen in Vrindavan and Modi served food to children near the facility. The centralised kitchen located the Mandir’s campus caters to government schools in Mathura-Vrindavan as part of the mid-day meal scheme.
Akshaya Patra is currently serving 14,702 schools across 12 states.