Chhatrapur: Aahar, the much-hyped subsidised lunch programme for urban poor, has failed in its objective here in Ganjam district with the local centre plagued by irregularities since its launch.
The mismanagement of the centre continues to hit people as people are being served with a handful of rice along with muddy water in the name of lunch, many hungry visitors Saturday complained. Earlier, people alleged they were not being given sufficient food at the centre.
Though, concerned officials are aware of the problems, they prefer to remain tight-lipped over the issue, it was learnt.
According to reports, Chhatrapur NAC executive Ramchandra Mihsra, who monitors the programme here, wrote about the poor service in the complaint register November 1 as he found the water kiosk in defunct state. But the agency, who ran the centre, didn’t bother to repair the machine.
Mishra again reprimanded the agency November 3 as the machine continued to produce muddy water. Despite this, the problem was not fixed. The centre has been plagued by a series of problems since it was opened with people complaining of returning half-fed. NAC executive Mishra was found in a helpless state even as the Berhampur Municipal Commissioner is the in-charge of Ganjam Aahar society.
Many beneficiaries Saturday reacted sharply to the irregularities but couldn’t register their complaints as it was a government holiday. PNN