About 200 concerned citizens wrote an open letter to Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren on Saturday, urging him to provide eggs in midday meals for schoolchildren five days a week.

“We are dismayed to note that the Jharkhand government’s long-standing promise to include eggs five days a week in children’s midday meals is yet to be fulfilled,” said the letter, signed by 196 persons, including economist Jean Dreze and many others representing various civil society organisations.

“We are writing as concerned citizens and friends of Jharkhand to urge you to redeem this promise without delay,” they added.

The students of primary and upper primary schools in the state were earlier provided with eggs three times every week, the letter pointed out, adding the practice was “arbitrarily reduced to twice a week by the then BJP government in January 2019”.

“Soon after it came to power, your government promised to raise it to five days a week, the letter reminded Hemant, adding “unfortunately, nothing of the sort has happened so far”.

Since the egg is a safe, affordable and tasty “superfood” containing most of the essential nutrients, it should be served in Jharkhand to address malnutrition among children and also to improve attendance in schools, the letter said.

According to the latest national family health survey of 2020-21, 67.5 per cent of the children in the state below the age of 5 years were anaemic while 39.4 per cent were underweight.

A recent survey by the Jharkhand unit of Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samity found that attendance in upper primary schools was abysmally low at 58 per cent, the letter pointed out, adding “attendance rises whenever eggs are served”.