Following death of 23 children in Patna after consuming poisoned food, a lizard was found in a Haryana school meal, causing outrage among the teachers
The string of mid-day meal tragedies continue as a dead lizard was found in the mid-day meal here on Monday, prior to consumption by the students of a government school.
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The students complained that it was not the first incident of its kind and that poisonous insects have been found in their mid-day meal previously, though a registered complaint had not been launched.
Officials said that images of the poisoned meal have been documented and the meal itself has been sent to the laboratory for inspection. They have also confirmed that after the final reports have been received from the laboratory, a court case will be filed.
A teacher said, “I have seen the lizard and have asked the authorities to return all supplies. A major disaster has been averted. If consumed, it could have been another tragedy in Haryana.”
Contrary to complaints from the students, the administration said that contaminated food has never been served to the children and this incident was a “first” for the institute.
Local administration has promised strong action against the organisation that supplies the mid-day meals. “We demand strict measures against those who supply the mid-day meal. The entire village has decided that the mid-day meal won’t be supplied to our schools anymore,” said the village sarpanch Charan Singh.
The dead lizard was detected in the rice of the mid-day meal well before the food was served to the students. A probe has been ordered into the incident and all mid-day meals delivered in all government schools in the district have been sent back to the Iskcon trust, which is the reported supplier in the area.
Horror in Tamil Nadu
Over 100 students had fallen ill after eating food served at a school in Neyveli, apart from the mid-day meal tragedy in Bihar that claimed lives of 23 children last week. Since then, more incidents have been reported in Bihar and Tamil Nadu.
Teachers in Haryana suspended for no meal
Three school headmasters have been suspended in Haryana’s Fatehabad district for not providing mid-day meals in their institutes, an official said yesterday. The state education department has also issued show-cause notice to two other teachers.
SIT probing Bihar mid-day meal deaths
A SIT formed by the Bihar government began its probe into the deaths of 23 children. The eight-member team is headed by Saran district’s Superintendent of Police Sujit Kumar.