Overview
- The Madhira centralized community kitchen was inaugurated on Monday and will supply hot breakfasts to about 44,107 students across 879 government schools in 16 mandals of Khammam district.
- The state has set a target to reach roughly 27 lakh students total—about 20 lakh in government schools and 7 lakh in residential schools—through a network of permanent centralized kitchens to be completed within approximately three months.
- Implementation is a public–private partnership: the Government of Telangana provided an 8,000 sq. ft. shed, Singareni Collieries Company Limited funded construction under CSR, and the Hare Krishna Movement Charitable Foundation will establish and operate the kitchens.
- The Madhira facility features high-capacity automated cooking equipment, biogas conversion for biodegradable waste, RO water treatment and an effluent treatment plant, and the programme will add milk three days a week and ragi malt three days to improve nutrition.
- Officials say the scheme targets disadvantaged communities to boost nutrition and learning outcomes, and the near-term measures to watch are timely completion of other kitchens, consistent meal delivery, and independent hygiene and impact monitoring.