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Global Investors’ Summit: Silver crockery for guests in malnutrition-hit state

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Sravani Sarkar 

NewsBits.in

Bhopal: About 200 VIP guests at the Global Investors’ Summit (GIS) 2016 will be served food cooked in mineral water reportedly on silver crockery by the government of Madhya Pradesh  - one of the worst malnutrition hit states of the country.

In last two months almost 150 deaths of malnourished children have been reported from various districts of Madhya Pradesh.

The state has second highest percentage of underweight (42.8%) and stunted (42%) children in the country according to National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4).

Also, more than 83% households have no access to treated drinking water (Census 2011) and outbreaks and deaths due to diarrhoea are rampant in Madhya Pradesh.

According to NFHS-4, about 9.5% children (approximately 10 lakh) below 5 years of age in MP are affected with diarrhoea.

Interestingly, MP is also the state where students of government school have had to petition to the prime minister’s office to get plates for mid-day meals only recently.

Yet, reports of kids in other schools eating chapattis kept in their lap emerged just a day ago.

UNNECESSARY EXPENDITURE

The ‘silverware’ lunch would be served to the VIPs including union ministers Arun Jaitley and Ravishankar Prasad apart from selected high-profile industrialists and foreign delegates on the inaugural day of the summit on October 22.

If one goes by the expenditure incurred on silver-crockery dinner for VIP guests during the Supreme Court Judges Retreat (details obtained through RTI) in Bhopal earlier this year, the cost per head would come to nearly Rs 3000 (Rs 6.94 lakh spent on 240 guests).

 “This is a gross wastage of funds in a state that was recently in throes of malnutrition deaths and where kids don’t even get simple plates to eat their mid-day meals. Why is it necessary to treat guests in such lavish, monarchial way? Isn’t normal hospitality enough?” RTI activist Ajay Dubey asks.

The fact that the MP government has not been able to translate even 5% of the promised investments during previous Global Investors’ Summit to reality, further puts the decision of state government under scanner.