₹8-crore centralised kitchen opened in Karimnagar, to serve breakfast to 49,025 students

A centralised community kitchen was inaugurated in Karimnagar on Wednesday (September 16) to provide nutritious breakfast to 49,025 students in 669 government schools and 11 junior colleges across 17 mandals under the Telangana government’s School Breakfast Programme.

Set up at an estimated cost of ₹8 crore, the facility will be operated by the Hare Krishna Movement Charitable Foundation (HKMCF), the implementing partner of the programme. The state-of-the-art kitchen will supply breakfast to government schools and junior colleges in 17 mandals covering the Karimnagar, Husnabad, Choppadandi and Manakondur Assembly constituencies.

Transport and Backward Classes Welfare Ponnam Prabhakar, who inaugurated the kitchen, said the programme, launched as a pilot in Kondangal in December 2024, had increased student attendance there from 75% to 90%, besides improving punctuality and concentration.

The government plans to extend the programme to 23,106 government schools, benefitting around 17.72 lakh students. It also proposes to establish centralised kitchens one each in all 31 districts to expand the programme across the State.

The expansion is expected to generate direct and indirect employment for around 25,000 people, Mr. Prabhakar said. Karimnagar MLA G. Kamalakar, Collector Chitra Mishra, and HKMCF representatives and others were present.