Bengaluru: Stepping up its attack on the Congress govt, opposition BJP Thursday accused it of delaying the rollout of free insulin for children with Type 1 diabetes and the supply of rice for the midday meal scheme in high schools.Leader of Opposition in the legislative assembly R Ashoka alleged that despite announcing free insulin for children below 18 with Type 1 diabetes in the budget, the govt had failed to implement the scheme. He claimed poor and middle-class families continued to spend Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 a month on insulin while more than 7,000 children across Karnataka awaited the promised benefit.Ashoka blamed the delay on alleged negligence by officials of the Karnataka State Medical Supplies Corporation Limited (KSMSCL) and delays in the tender process. He also claimed govt hospitals, including Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health and KIDS Hospital in Bengaluru, had not received insulin supplies and were relying on NGOs to meet demand. He urged chief minister D K Shivakumar to expedite the tender process and begin distribution immediately.The BJP MLA also alleged that the govt had failed to supply rice for the mid-day meal scheme to students of Classes 9 and 10 even after one-and-a-half months of the academic year. He claimed schools were using rice meant for primary school students to feed high school students, raising concerns over shortages for younger children.According to Ashoka, the delay continued despite approval from the finance department and communication from the school education department. Alleging poor planning and administrative lapses, he urged the govt to ensure immediate procurement and distribution of rice, recalling last year’s controversy over the alleged supply of poor-quality tur dal under the mid-day meal programme.
