Hyderabad: Deputy chief minister Bhatti Vikramarka on Monday said welfare schemes should be viewed as investments in people rather than freebies, asserting that govts must invest in the social and economic advancement of all sections of society, particularly the poor, Dalits and backward communities.He inaugurated a centralised community kitchen in Madhira assembly constituency that will supply breakfast to govt school students. Addressing a public meeting later, he said the Congress govt is committed to ensuring that no child in Telangana attends a govt school on an empty stomach.“The future of students is the future of the state. Despite financial constraints, the govt has introduced the free breakfast scheme to provide students with hygienic, tasty, and nutritious food every morning, promoting both their physical and mental development. As announced in the state budget, the scheme has now been launched across all govt schools, beginning from Madhira constituency,” Bhatti said.He said the programme was launched to address the difficulties faced by children. Calling the breakfast programme for 27 lakh students, including seven lakh residential school students, a historic initiative, he said: “At present, the temporary centralised kitchen in Madhira supplies breakfast to schools in 16 mandals, and permanent centralised kitchens across the state will be completed within the next three months.”Apart from breakfast, the govt is providing milk three days a week and ragi malt on three days to improve students’ nutrition, he said.
