Rice runs out at school sports meet venue in Kozhikode; chapatis briefly take over the menu

Kozhikode: A shortage of rice delayed lunch service at the main venue of the Kerala State School Athletics Meet at Chathamangalam NIT Ground, prompting organisers to serve chapatis and beef curry to students while an additional batch of rice was cooked.

The rice supply was disrupted for around 45 minutes after an unexpectedly large number of people arrived at the dining hall. Food Committee Convener and Kerala Pradesh School Teachers Association (KPSTA) State President P K Aravindan said the shortage was addressed by serving chapatis prepared for dinner, followed by rice once the additional batch was ready.

The incident occurred as inclusive sports events for children with disabilities were being held at the venue.

Aravindan said meals were prepared for 8,000 people a day, based on the planned distribution. However, the number of people arriving at the dining hall exceeded expectations, including some without food coupons.
“Coupons had been distributed in advance to office-bearers of various committees, but we do not know whether they were issued to everyone on time or passed on to others,” he said.

The dining area was set up in an open tent, making it difficult to regulate the crowd as people entered through different access points. Aravindan also said the organisers did not receive police assistance to manage the rush.

An additional 100 kg of rice had been kept in reserve, but cooking it took time, resulting in the temporary disruption. Aravindan said the organisers had since increased food preparation for each meal and expanded coupon distribution to prevent a recurrence.

Food sent to other venues
Pazhayidom Mohanan Namboothiri, who heads the catering team, said the shortage at the main venue was also linked to larger quantities of food being dispatched to eight other venues hosting events.
“When we were told that the other venues had more people than expected, we sent them additional food beyond the quantities originally planned. That led to a shortfall here,” he said.

Mohanan also cited difficulties in transporting water to the kitchen tent. Heavy mud around the site had prevented water tankers from reaching the kitchen easily. The access route was subsequently reinforced with metal aggregate to address the problem.

Minister has lunch with athletes
Education Minister N Shamsudheen visited the dining hall on the second day of the meet and had lunch alongside the young athletes.
The visit followed complaints on the opening day that some students had not received rice during lunch.