Bhatti Vikramarka Inaugurates Community Kitchen in Madhira for School Children

Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka inaugurated a state-of-the-art centralized community kitchen at Madhira in Khammam district on Monday. Established by the Hare Krishna Movement, the facility is set to provide nutritious breakfast to 44,107 government school children studying in 879 schools across 16 mandals of the district as part of the state government's free breakfast scheme.

Speaking at the launch event, Mr. Vikramarka stated that the future of Telangana depends on the future of its students, which relies directly on the quality of education they receive. He emphasized that the Congress government is committed to ensuring that no child attends school on an empty stomach, noting that children who arrive hungry struggle to concentrate on their studies.

The breakfast initiative, which was previously announced in the State Budget, has now been launched across government schools, beginning with the Madhira Assembly constituency. The Deputy Chief Minister explained that despite financial constraints, the government introduced the scheme to offer hygienic, nutritious, and tasty food every morning to promote the physical and mental well-being of students.

Addressing the gathering, Mr. Vikramarka described the initiative to provide breakfast to 2.7 million students across the state as a historic decision. He asserted that welfare programmes should be viewed as investments in people rather than "freebies," adding that the government invests in education, health, and well-being for the poor, Dalits, backward classes, and other disadvantaged sections, alongside investments in infrastructure and industries.

During his speech, the Deputy Chief Minister also highlighted other ongoing government welfare initiatives, including the sanctioning of 4.5 lakh Indiramma houses in the first phase at a cost of ₹22,500 crore. He mentioned the Mahalakshmi Scheme, which provides free bus travel to women, as well as interest-free bank-linked loans worth ₹67,000 crore for self-help groups to empower women economically.

Following the formal inauguration, Mr. Vikramarka served breakfast to the school students and joined them for the meal. The programme was attended by representatives of the Hare Krishna Movement Charitable Foundation, Wyra MLA Maloth Ramdas Nayak, and Khammam District Collector Divakar T.S.