Honourable LG of Puducherry and Honourable CM, Inaugurate Akshaya Patra’s 60th Kitchen

It is Akshaya Patra’s 60th kitchen in the country and will enable the Foundation to serve over 50,800 children of 291 schools.

Puducherry, January 5, 2022: Honourable Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry, Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan, and Honourable Chief Minister, Shri. N. Rangasamy inaugurated The Akshaya Patra Foundation’s new kitchen at an event held in Lawspet on January 5, 2022. It is Akshaya Patra’s 60th kitchen in the country and first in the UT of Puducherry. Supported by The New India Assurance Co. Ltd. and General Insurance Corporation of India, the state-of-the-art centralised kitchen will help Akshaya Patra impact the lives of over 50,800 children through the Government’s flagship Mid-Day Meal (MDM) Scheme.

The chief guests at the inauguration ceremony were Honourable LG, Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan, and Honourable CM, Shri. N. Rangasamy. Shri. R. Selvam - Honourable Speaker of Puducherry Legislative Assembly, graced the occasion as the guest of honour. Shri. A. Namassivayam – Honourable Minister of Home and Education, Shri. K. Lakshminarayanan – Honourable Minister of PWD, Shri. A.K. Sai J. Saravanan Kumar – Honourable Minister of Civil Supplies, Shri. V. Vaithilingam - MP (Lok Sabha), Shri. S. Selvaganapathy - MP (Rajya Sabha), Shri. P.M.L. Kalyanasundaram - MLA, Kalapet and Shri. M. Vaithianathan, MLA - Lawspet attended the event as special invitees. Shri. Ramakant Agarwal – General Manager, The New India Assurance Co. Ltd., and Smt. Jayashri Prabhu, Senior Manager, General Insurance Corporation of India were the patron guests on the occasion. The event was presided by Shri Chanchalapathi Dasa, Vice-Chairman of Akshaya Patra.
The inauguration event was followed by a tour of the kitchen facility and a symbolic serving of meals to the children. The dignitaries present commended Akshaya Patra’s efforts to address hunger and malnutrition in the country through the feeding programme and pledged their support to the organisation’s endeavours.

Expressing his gratitude, Shri Chanchalapathi Dasa, Vice-Chairman - Akshaya Patra, said, “I want to thank the Honourable Lieutenant Governor, Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan, and Chief Minister of Puducherry, Shri. N. Rangaswamy for inaugurating our first kitchen in the union territory. Over the years, we have witnessed the impact of the MDM Programme. We have seen how it serves as an incentive for children to come to school and continue their education. Therefore, we have always strived to reach out to more and more children across the country with hygienic, nutritious and tasty mid-day meals. Today, the Government of Puducherry has provided us this opportunity to serve the children in the Union Territory. We are immensely grateful to them for the same.” He further added, “We also want to extend our sincere gratitude to The New India Assurance Co. Ltd. and General Insurance Corporation of India for sponsoring this kitchen and supporting our efforts to address classroom hunger. Such collaborative efforts will surely take us closer to our mission. And lastly, we want to thank the Ministry of Education (MoE), Government of India, for their continued support to the Foundation’s endeavour to address classroom hunger over the last 21 years.”

With the launch of the new kitchen, Akshaya Patra will be implementing the MDM Scheme in Puducherry. The new unit will follow world-class manufacturing practices and the highest standards of hygiene, food safety and quality to ensure that nutritious food is cooked and delivered to children. Adhering to the practice of serving food in accordance with the local palate, in Puducherry, Akshaya Patra will be serving rice and Seasonal vegetable poriyal, vegetable pulav, sweet pongal, sambar, sundal, curd, etc. A fleet of 20 vehicles will deliver the food to schools in insulated food containers. These containers can maintain the temperature for more than 6 hours.

#72, 3rd Floor, 3rd Main Road, 1st & 2nd Stage Yeshwantpur Industrial Suburb,

Akshaya Patra, is an NGO headquartered in bangalore fighting classsroom hunger br providing nutritious midday meals to the chuldren of government and government aided schools

This release was published on openPR.