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The PM POSHAN mid‑day meal scheme is facing implementation challenges amid the LPG crunch in India triggered by the U.S.–Israel and Iran conflict. The scheme which serves about 11 crore children across 10.35 lakh schools, mostly from socially disadvantaged and low-income backgrounds, is now reverting to alternative fuels.
Some schools that had recently shifted from firewood to LPG are returning or planning to return to firewood. Schools that already relied on firewood, along with centralised or community kitchens that use steam-based systems with firewood and briquettes, have largely been insulated from the LPG shortage.
But, who are the workers forming the backbone of these school kitchens, and how are they coping with—or planning to cope with—the shift from gas to firewood? For those who have always worked with firewood, what challenges do they face?
The answers point to women. The kitchens are overwhelmingly run by them. According to Ministry of Education data, over 90% of the 24 lakh cook‑cum‑helpers (CCHs) under the scheme are women. These honorary workers prepare and serve nutritious meals to children, receiving ₹1,000 a month for 10 months, an amount shared between the Centre and the states, with several states providing additional support toward the honorarium.
When firewood returns
Bharathi* begins her day at 8 a.m., preparing the mid-day meal at a government school in a remote block of eastern part of district in Bihar. She recalls that she had cooked on firewood for years earlier, and says the recent shift back over the past few days to it has brought back the same physical strain.
Cooking on firewood, she says, takes longer and leaves her with watery eyes and chest discomfort. In addition she has to source fuel to fire the wood as well. “With summer temperatures rising, the conditions in the kitchen have become even more taxing,” she added. Despite these difficulties, she continues to prepare meals for nearly 500 children in the school along with three other CCHs. She says there is little relief in sight, as summer holidays in the State are scheduled only in June, unlike in some other States where schools close as early as April.
While Bharathi hopes the return to firewood will be temporary until LPG supplies stabilise, several women in other schools have been cooking on firewood for years, with little certainty of any change.
Forced choice
Lakshmi*, a cook-cum-helper from a rural district in the northern part of Telangana, says she joined the school kitchen nearly 17 years ago and has since relied almost entirely on firewood. According to her, LPG has rarely been available at subsidised rates, making firewood the more affordable option. She explains the government supplies only basic rations such as rice and jowar each month, while other ingredients must be purchased in advance and later reimbursed. On average, she spends nearly ₹50,000 a month on items such as eggs, vegetables, pulses and cooking oil to prepare meals for the children. She says reimbursement for February has not yet been received and that she has had to borrow money at interest to meet the expenses for the current month. She says that amid these financial pressures, she is unable to afford an LPG cylinder, which costs about ₹1,000 and lasts barely half a week.
Instead, she says she spends about ₹3,000 a month on sourcing firewood to cook for nearly 500 children, often collecting leftover timber from old houses or felled trees in nearby fields and, at times, purchasing it directly from local suppliers. She says the continued use of firewood has taken a toll on her health such as breathing difficulties and back pain as well as that of three other co-workers. With no proper storage space, the firewood is often stacked in corners of the kitchen, sometimes falling and creating additional strain. “For now, I am still managing, and healthy enough to cook” says Lakshmi, who is in her mid-forties.
Women anxious as supplies nearing end
Meanwhile, cook-cum-helpers in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka whom this reporter spoke to said they were anxious as their schools were running on the last available LPG cylinder. Though refill orders had been placed, supplies were yet to arrive, prompting them to consider an alternative, albeit an unpreferred one, of reverting to firewood for the remaining weeks.
With summer holidays expected in about a month and schools set to reopen only after nearly two months, they expressed hope that the supply situation would stabilise by then, or that regular LPG access would at least be restored.
Gendered burden
The use of traditional fuels brings its own set of challenges, and the potential health risks faced by the women running these kitchens cannot be overlooked.
“The shift back to firewood places a disproportionate burden on women, who already shoulder most cooking responsibilities in both homes and school kitchens. In times of economic or supply crises, it is the poorest and most marginalised women who are affected first. The issue remains largely invisible in public discourse despite its serious implications for their well-being,” said Sujatha Surepally, Professor of Sociology at Satavahana University.
From a health perspective, public health doctor and researcher Dr. Sylvia Karpagam said that switching to firewood is far from an easy alternative. She noted that cooking with firewood can reinforce the physical drudgery that has historically fallen on women and may expose them to fine particulate matter, depending on the material being burned. Such exposure can aggravate existing respiratory conditions and increase the risk of ailments such as bronchitis, asthma and, over time, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The risks are higher when cooking is done indoors, when the wood is damp, or when ventilation is poor. There is also a greater likelihood of burns and other injuries while handling open fires.
(The author is an independent journalist based in Hyderabad covering politics, human rights, and environmental issues, primarily from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. He is now expanding his work to include education across all States.)
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