Akshaya Aahara free lunch to shore up attendance at Mysuru women’s college, ETEducation
Mysuru: In a heartwarming initiative to support students, Akshaya Aahara Foundation, under its Akshaya Aahara Jolige project, has come forward to provide free lunch to students of Maharani’s Arts College for Women here.
The move aims to ensure that students, especially those coming from far-off rural areas, do not miss their afternoon classes due to hunger. This initiative has helped increase attendance.
Initially, lunch will be provided to around 200 students — primarily to those from distant areas and differently-abled students.
The college, which has over 2,600 students from across the Mysuru and Chamarajanagar districts, expects the initiative to make a significant difference in attendance and academic performance.
Many students who used to come to attend classes from far-off locations, were reportedly leaving for home by noon because they used to come to college having skipped their breakfast.
Concerned by this, G. Balaji, a political science professor at the college and a visually impaired person, brought the matter to the attention of H R Rajendra, a Union govt employee known for his philanthropic initiatives in Mysuru.
Rajendra, who has been providing free meals to the needy for the past 13 years through Akshaya Aahara Foundation, responded positively to the request.
With the active involvement of Anitha M S, the college principal, the programme was officially launched on Nov 3.
Some teachers have also volunteered to support the cause financially.
Speaking about the initiative, Balaji said: “Many students travel from distant villages and often come without breakfast. By noon, they feel hungry and are forced to return home, skipping important classes in the process. After learning about Rajendra’s activities, I approached him for help. Thanks to his generosity, our students can now stay back and attend classes regularly.”
“We noticed a drop in attendance, especially among students from rural areas. Upon investigating, we found out that hunger was the main reason behind it. Balaji then took the initiative, and we worked together to make this happen,” Anitha added.
“We plan to formalise this collaboration with an MoU soon,” the principal further said.
Rajendra said: “It is an honour to serve food to the students — the future of our nation. My wife and I have taken up this project voluntarily. If more people come forward to support, we plan to extend this programme to other govt colleges as well, including one in Vijayanagar.”
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