SV: prasada to poor people; some relevant quotes

[Guest guest]

Here are some nice newspaper articles that have recently been published

about the prasadam distribution of the Bangalore temple, which feeds 17,000

children a day in the schools of Karnataka. The government was so impressed

with the program that they have adopted a similar program for the rest of

the state; and the chief minister of Karnataka personally honoured the

ISKCON temple president at an inauguration function. Just imagine, ISKCON is

setting the standard for the government to follow. Don't you think

Prabhupada would be happy? But some here would say it is "Food for Death",

it is an offense to Srila Prabhupada, and it is all mundane karma-kanda.

After all, they are just giving prasadam to the needy. Why aren't they

giving it to the rich?

 

TIMES OF INDIA

Mid-day Meal Started in N. Karnataka

 

Times News Network

 

Raichur: Chief Minister S.M. Krishna sat down to lunch with students of the

Government Primary School on Friday, kicking off the mid-day meal scheme for

the seven districts of North Karnataka. The launch took place at Arakera

village in Deodurga taluk of Raichur district, where Krishna arrived by

helicopter along with some ministers at 11.40 a.m.

 

Minster for Education H. Viswanath, district in charge and Public Works

Minster Dharam Singh, Health Minister Maalaka Raddy and Home Minister

Mallikarjun Kharge joined the CM in the meal. After the lamp had been lit

and vocalist Sangita Kakhandiki had sung the invocation, MP Venkatesh Nayak

delivered the welcome speech.

 

"Children are not a burden to society. To encourage them to study, and

decrease illiteracy in the state, particularly in a backward area like

Deodurga taluk, we have proposed to introduce the mid-day meal programme,"

Krishna said in his speech.

 

Krishna had a special word for the social services of ISKCON and Wipro chief

educationist Azim Premji (the richest Indian in the world). At present, the

International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), Bangalore, has

taken on the responsibility of providing mid-day meals to 19,000 people in

Bangalore.

 

Later, Krishna's cabinet ministers and His Holiness Madhu Pandit Das,

president and project director of ISKCON, Bangalore, also spoke, Deodurga

MLA Yellappa Akkarki proposed the vote of thanks.

 

ISKCON Seer Felicitated

 

Chief Minister Krishna felicitated His Holiness Madhu Pandit Das of ISKCON

with a shawl and presented him a memento. In his speech, Swamiji Madhu

Pandit Das said that "annadanna is supreme. No other gift or donation is

equal to it. ISKCON has already started providing mid-day meals to 19,000

people in Bangalore, and plans to feed 2.5 lakh (250,000) people a day in

and around Bangalore", he said. "It will cost roughly Rs 30 lakh ($60,000) a

month, but Lord Krishna's grace, we have no scarcity of finance."

 

The Swamiji invoked the tale of the 'Akshya Patre Yojana' (miraculous

pitcher) which never got empty, to relate to the mid-day meal programme. He

blessed Krishna to lead Karnataka and make the state hunger-free within

three years.

 

DECCAN HERALD

 

Iskcon chief calls for Child hunger free State

 

BANGALORE, Nov 10

The president of Iskcon, Bangalore, Mr Madhu Pandit, has urged Chief

Minister S M Krishna to adopt the mission of making Karnataka a

"child-hunger free" State during the remaining three years of his tenure.

Replying to the felicitation for the success of Iskcon, Bangalore's

"Akshayapatra" programme of feeding poor children of schools in and around

Bangalore, Mr Madhu Pandit attributed it to the dedication of their 70

full-time volunteers, who go with a begging bowl each morning, albeit in a

sophisticated manner with brief cases and by appointment, to affluent

Bangaloreans and awaken their social responsibility to support one hungry

child.

 

The scheme has managed a phenomenal reach of 19,000 children in little over

a year and it is aimed to feed 30,000 children by end of this academic year,

said Mr Madhu Pandit, thanking the donors whose donation of Rs 1,200 each

helped feed a child for a whole year. Mr Madhu Pandit was felicitated by

Chief Minister S M Krishna at the launch of the State government's mid-day

meal scheme for seven north Karnataka districts at Arakere, Raichur

District, on Saturday

 

He said the Centre at present supplied free rice for feeding primary school

children. If a similar request is made to feed high school children through

an NGO, the Union Food and Civil Supplies ministry was willing to oblige.

The State Government should immediately approach the Center, he suggested.

 

THE HINDU

 

‘ISKCON`s Programme has shown results’

 

By Our Staff Reporter

 

BANGALORE, NOV. 10. The Akshayapatra Annadana programme implemented by the

ISKCON in several schools in the State under which children are given free

mid-day meals has resulted in their improved attendance, "increased

attention" and academic development, according to Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa,

chief of the ISKCON, Bangalore center.

 

Replying to a felicitation by the Chief Minister, Mr. S.M.Krishna, at

Raichur on Friday, he said a study report of the Education Department said

the free mid-day meal had a great impact on school children, and 99.6 per

cent of the beneficiaries felt that they paid better attention towards their

studies. He added that 93.8 per cent of the teachers felt that there was an

overall academic improvement in the students.

 

Sri Madhupandit Dasa said that 91.8 per cent of the teachers felt that the

attendance of the students had improved. In the current academic year. 16

Schools had reported a 15 per cent increase in enrolment. The mid-day meal

programme had addressed two of the most debilitating problems-hunger and

education.

 

The Home Minister, Mr. Mallikarjuna Kharge, the Minister for Public Works,

Mr. Dharam Singh, and the Education Minister, Mr. H.Viswanath, were present.

The ISKCON, Bangalore Centre, which provided mid-day meals to over 19,000

children planned to help 30,000 children daily, Sri Dasa said and added that

it required Rs.30 lakh a month to sustain the present programme. Specially

thanking philanthropists and organizations in the State, he said each donor

paid Rs.1,200 to feed one child for a whole year. He said ISKCON`s aim was

to make Bangalore Rural District a hunger-free district, "Which had 2,50,000

children, who were hungry."

 

Requesting the Chief Minister to introduce a programme to provide mid-day

meal to all poor children in the State. Sri Dasa said that this should be

done even at the expense of an infrastructure project or by levying taxes.