It's eggs vs bananas for Karnataka govt

[Guest guest]

Link: http://www.ibnlive.com/news/its-eggs-vs-bananas-for-ktaka-

govt/31617-3.html

 

It's eggs vs bananas for K'taka govt

 

Deepa Balakrishnan and Shwetal Kamalpurkar

CNN-IBN

 

Bangalore: The Karnataka government could slip on the proverbial

bannana peel on a new issue that has cropped up - whether school

children should be fed eggs or bananas.

 

 

The question is not 'what came first, the chicken or the egg'. For

the Karnatak government, the question instead is, 'what comes first,

the egg or the banana?'

 

 

For more than 58 lakh government school students in the state, mid-

day meal programmes may soon have eggs, for the government wants to

ensure they get a nutritious diet.

 

 

However, in most schools mid-day meals are funded by religious mutts

and institutions like Akshaya Patra foundation of ISKCON who think

that eggs are not vegetarian.

 

 

 

Says Akshaya Patra Foundation ISKCON, Vice President, " Even without

eggs, NGOs like us are able to give the right mix of nutritive food

to children. If the government wants to give eggs then they will

have to use their own resources to do so. "

 

 

But what has created the dilemma for the Kumaraswamy government? The

issue cropped up when the state government carried out a survey for

the childern asking them what they like to eat.

 

 

Out of the 58 lakh students who participated in the survey, close to

50 lakh students opted for eggs while the remaining 8 lakh chose

bananas.

 

 

The Karnataka government has now been forced to call a cabinet

meeting on Saturday to discuss the issue.

 

So while the debate rages on, the government is trying desperately

to get out of the controversy without getting an egg on their face.