In the absence of a dietician it was difficult certify that the food served from the
kitchen of SCB Medical College was wholesome and nutritious, whether the
same represented a balanced combination of carbohydrates, protein, oil/fat, trace
minerals and vitamins and whether the nutritive value of food conforms to 3000
kilo calorie for men and 2500 kilo calorie for women.
Mental Hospital (MH), Varanasi (5th July, 2010)
The scale of diet per patient per day had been revised from Rs. 20 to Rs. 35. The
FCI had discontinued supply of rice and wheat to mental hospital Varanasi on the
strength of permit since March 2007. Despite the assurance given by District
Magistrate (DM) the supplies had not resumed. Food grains continued to be
supplied by government approved contractor at higher rates than PDS rates.
The DM needs to take necessary action to resume supplies essential commodities
including food grains, rice, sugar, pulses etc. from PDS at much lower price than
the prices at which these items are supplied by the Government approved
contractor.
The kitchen building of Mental Hospital Varanasi was in a very bad shape. The
kitchen was not well lighted and ventilated and the standards of cleanliness
inside the building required to be improved. The post of cooks was lying vacant
and there was no sanctioned post of Kahar (helper). The Director had sent a
proposal for sanctioning 7 posts of cooks but no sanction had been received.
The proposal submitted by Director for sanctioning 7 posts of cooks may be
sanctioned and vacant posts of cooks need to filled up on urgent basis .
The food was transported from the kitchen to barracks manually in the absence
of trollies. Food was served on the floor as there were no dining tables. There
were two different timings of serving food in summers (March to October) and
winters (November to February). The tea was served only in the morning and
there was no provision for serving tea and snack in the evening. The dinner was
served to early between 4PM and 5 PM to inmates both in summers and winters.
As a result, inmates used to feel hungry in the night and a huge gap between
dinner and breakfast was likely to give rise to gastric problems.
Trollies need to be procured without any delay for transportation of food from
kitchen to the barracks and Dining rooms need to be provided with dining tables
and chairs.
Institute of Mental Health and Hospital (IMHH), Agra (28th to 30th March,
2011)
The food served to the inmates in IMHH was wholesome, sumptuous and
nutritious. The nutrient value of food had been estimated at 3177.56 kilo calorie
for male and 2969.56 kilo calorie for female patients. The menu was changed
every day and food served was a balanced combination of carbohydrate, protein,
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National Human Rights Commission