In a shocking incident in Madhya Pradesh's Maihar district, students were served their Republic Day mid-day meal on torn scraps of waste paper and old notebook pages instead of plates. The video of the students sitting on the floor, eating halwa-puri on torn paper, soon went viral. The incident took place at Government High School in Bhatigwan. Reacting swiftly, district officials launched an investigation. Rajesh Singh, Public Relations Officer for Satna and Maihar, said, "Strict action has been initiated." Based on the report by District Project Coordinator Vishnu Tripathi, a proposal to suspend the in-charge Principal Sunil Kumar Tripathi has been sent to the Commissioner, Rewa. Additionally, the contract employee BRC Pradeep Singh has had one month’s salary deducted. The Maihar collector also issued show-cause notices to the District Panchayat's Midday Meal Branch in-charge and DPC Tripathi for negligence. The incident drew sharp criticism from the opposition Congress party. Madhya Pradesh Congress spokesman and former Women’s Commission member Sangeeta Sharma stated on X, "This is the bitter truth of the midday meal that children were served food on scrap paper in the Maihar district. "Is this your good governance and sensitive government?" She targeted Chief Minister Mohan Yadav’s administration for the lapse.