Urban News

Indian Express  08.12.2010

School playgrounds can be used to play cricket or football: Corporation

The Municipal Corporation (MC) has mooted a proposal that school playgrounds should be made available for those looking for a place to play cricket or football after certification from the area councillor. A proposal on this will be sent to the UT Administration.

The civic body has developed parks and greenbelts in most sectors with the aim of beautification. With new plants, benches and at places walking paths, there is not much space left for children to play. In fact, playing games like cricket and football becomes out of bounds. In many cases residents also object to children playing in parks and greenbelts.

Earlier, it had been decided that schools should allow children in the vicinity to utilise the playgrounds in the evening. In many schools the playgrounds remain unutilised after school hours. However, schools have been reluctant to give permission. The reasons given by the school authorities is that the children who come damage school furniture and other equipment. It was also felt that it was difficult to keep a check on those coming to the school during evenings.

The Municipal Corporation has now decided to send a proposal to the Administration to allow teams to play cricket and football after receiving certification from the area councillor.

“With the area councillors giving certification to the teams, the schools would feel more secure in giving their playgrounds for practice,” said Mayor Anu Chatrath. “I have discussed the issue with the Administration. We will be sending a formal proposal to the Administration.”

The Municipal Corporation has developed a large number of parks and greenbelts in the city. Due to this, the open spaces that were being used as playgrounds are no longer available. Another problem being faced by children is that the area around the parks is often used by residents to park vehicles. The shrinking parking space has led to vehicles being parked either on the roadside or on the paver blocks installed around the boundary of parks. This is another reason why residents object to the children playing here.

Councillor Pardeep Chhabra said, “The proposal to use playgrounds in schools for games was mooted two years ago. However, the schools were reluctant to allow teams to play. With certification from councillors, the school principals would feel more secure.”

Hindustan Times  08.12.2010

In yet another incident that raises a question mark on the quality of food served in municipal schools, worms have been found in the khichdi distributed to students of the Deonar Municipal Urdu School. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) mid-day meal scheme, often criticised for its bland food, has found itself in yet another controversy.

Education committee chairperson, Rukmini Kharatmol, who visited the school on Saturday, found small worms in the khichdi and was unfit for human consumption. “I was appalled to see there were worms in food meant for school children. This is a serious matter because it is related to the health of small children.”

The mid-deal meal programme was started in civic schools, to encourage children from the poorer sections of the society to attend classes.

However, over a period, the quality of the food, being served by women groups, has deteriorated, and there have been several instances of students falling ill after consuming the food.

Civic officials said a school that runs classes from the first to the eight grade and has a total strength of 1,250 students is supplied mid-day meals by an organisation called Pooja Mahila Mandal.

Kharatmol has initiated an inquiry and has stopped distribution of mid-day meals in the Deonar school.

However, Arifa Shaikh, headmistress of the school, vouched for the food provided by the Pooja Mahila Mandal. “I taste the food every day before it is distributed to the school students. The meals supplied by the mandal are always tasty and hygienic. It is difficult to understand what went wrong on that day,” she said.

Officials from the BMC’s education department admitted that they had been receiving complaints. “If we find a contractor is supplying bad quality food, we impose a penalty and if the contractor fails to improve, we blacklist them,” said an official, on condition of anonymity.

So far, two contractors have been blacklisted.