Belagavi
A section of students in government schools in Belagavi have refused to drink milk given to them under the state’s Ksheera Bhagya programme because some fear they will become obese and while others do not like the smell and taste of the milk.
According to the sources in the department of school education and literacy, around 24 per cent of students have said they don’t want to drink the milk. Many of them are high school girls. Some girls don’t want to drink the milk because they fear that obesity will set in, Leelavati Hiremath, the education officer of the Akshara Dasoha programme, said.
Many children, who are from Classes 1 to 10, are from villages and have raw milk at home. The Ksheera Bhagya programme, which was started to curb malnourishment, serves a solution of powdered milk and sugar in water.
G Srinivasan,  the managing director of the Belagavi Milk Union of KMF, said, we haven’t got complaints so far regarding the taste or smell of the milk powder we supply. Maybe some students have developed such feelings but when we look at the overall scenario, everything is okay.
Some students have said they are allergic to milk.
Around 420 metric tonnes of milk powder are supplied to the district every month by the Belagavi Milk Union.
There is a proposal before the government to add flavour to the Ksheera Bhagya milk. There is demand like adding chocolate flavour, but this must be decided at the government level. As far as the district is concerned, we don’t have any such proposal, HV Darshan, ZP CEO, said.
Education officer Hiremath revealed that they have started sensitising schools on the health benefits of milk.
We have asked schools to sensitise the students about milk during the morning prayer. We also encourage students by drinking milk along with them during field visits. Teachers have been instructed to drink milk with the students as students follow the teachers. We are trying our best, she said.
Eighteen grams of milk powder is set aside for each child. Schools prepare the milk in bulk using water and sugar proportionately. However, some schools have allowed students to add different flavours, Hiremath said.
