BMC had scrapped scheme as precautionary measure

Mumbai: Ever since its launch in 2007, the flavoured milk scheme has been mired in controversy due to several cases of indigestion among civic students after consuming flavoured milk.

Due to this, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had to scrap the scheme as a precautionary measure.

In a bid to provide healthy food to civic students, the BMC in 2007 had started the scheme, under which students were supplied tetra packs of flavoured milk. However, within couple of months, students from muncipal schools in Dadar and Grant Road fell sick after consuming flavoured milk and were hospitalised.

The incident raised a huge question mark over the decision to supply flavoured milk to municipal students. The scheme was discontinued after incidents of milk indigestion. The civic body appointed an expert committee to probe the issue and as per its recommendations changed the milk flavour from strawberry to ilachi.

However, even after its re-inception after a couple of years, the series of indigestion incidents continued. Following this, the BMC sent the milk samples to its Malad laboratory for testing. The report stating that the milk is unfit for human consumption had forced the BMC to review the flavoured

milk project. However, with the state government laboratories testifying it ‘good’, the civic body decided to start it again. But with corporators demanding other healthy options, the BMC decided to discontinue the scheme in 2014.