Lucknow: Freelance journalist Pawan Jaiswal has passed away. Pawan Jaiswal is the journalist who exposed that only salt and chapati was being served to children as mid-day meal in a UP school.
Earlier last month, he had took to Twitter and had appealed to the Yogi Adityanath government in the state to help him with his cancer treatment. Pawan Jaiswal, who has two children, is a freelance journalist from Mirzapur-Vindhyachal and had been struggling to provide for his treatment.
Tagging Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanth, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Congress Leader Priyanka Gandhi, the journalist tweeted, “In life, we have done journalism with honesty, we disclosed that salt roti was being fed to children. But now I am losing hope. At this time I need money for treatment. I am battling the problem of cancer. . help please @myogiadityanath @yadavakhilesh @priyankagandhi.”
As per norms under the mid-day meal scheme, pulses, rice, rotis, vegetables with fruits, and milk on certain days are to be served to school-going children to ensure necessary nutrition to them. The mid-day meal is designated to provide a minimum of 450 calories per child per day, and the meal should include at least 12 grams of proteins. These meals should be served to each child at least 200 days a year.
In 2019 Jaiswal was given clean chit after he was booked for allegedly maligning the image of the state government after he shot a video showing just salt and rotis being served to students of a primary school in Mirzapur. The video, shot by Jaiswal, of Shiur Primary School under Aharaura police station, had gone viral on August 22. That video had led to sparking an Opposition backlash against the BJP government in the state. Two teachers were suspended by the state government. A case was registered against Jaiswal, a journalist with a Hindi daily, and the representative of Hinauta village head Rajkumar Pal for allegedly maligning the image of the state government.
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
