Cheemeni (Kasaragod): A lot of food is getting wasted in jails because, according to officials, prisoners now are not as big food-lovers as those before.
To prevent this, the jail department has formed a seven-member committee, which includes the state nutrition officer, to regulate the amount of food being served.
Prisons provide food for each inmate based on the amount that was decided 35 years ago. Even though the menu was revised in 2014, the quantity of food served was not changed.
The decision to review the amount of food being served comes after DGP Rishiraj Singh, during his many visits to jails, noticed that leftovers were being dumped in ditches.
A prisoner is given 650 grams of grains such as rice and wheat a day. In addition, meat and vegetables are also provided. In effect, each prisoner is provided about 1 kg of food daily.
In a prison with 1,000 inmates, it has been found that food for at least 250 people ends up in the trash. The jail department has also decided to calculate the amount of food getting wasted.
In the mornings, about 100 grams of semolina is used to prepare upma for one person for breakfast. This may also be changed due to complaints that the quantity is less.
Providing curry along with upma instead of bananas of different quantities and various sizes is also being considered.
Although some prisons reduced the quantity of food to avoid wastage, they faced a problem with the unused grains as there was no clear instruction on what should be done with them.
Now, the committee that includes Nutrition Officer K T Sreelatha Kumari has been formed to review the quantity of food provided in jails and look into other food-related problems.