West Bengal: Snake found in mid-day meal in Birbhum, many children ill

 

Several school children were hospitalized after consuming food that allegedly contained a snake, officials said.

In Birbhum, West Bengal, a case of extreme negligence has come to light in the mid-day meal made for school students. A school staff preparing food has also claimed that a snake was found in a container filled with pulses. Officials said several school children were admitted to the hospital after consuming food that allegedly contained snakes. Around 30 students of a primary school in Mayureshwar block of the district fell ill after consuming the food served in the mid-day meal on Monday.

District Primary School Council President P Nayak said, "It happened at Mandalpur Primary School. All the students were taken to the hospital. I also went to the hospital and spoke to the parents. The students are fine now."

Block Development Officer Dipanjan Jana told reporters that complaints have been received from many villagers about children falling ill after having mid-day meal. Jana said, “I have informed the district inspector of primary schools, who will come on January 10.”

The official said that except one child, all the children have been discharged from the hospital. He is out of danger.

Apart from this, in another case of negligence, a rat and a lizard were found in the mid-day meal at a school in Malda.

Malda District Magistrate Nitin Singhania said, "The matter of dead lizard and rat being found in the mid-day meal has come to our notice. Strict action will be taken against those responsible for this."

A local said that the quality of the mid-deal meal is poor and students have been complaining about it for a long time.

The local officer said, "The quality of the mid-day meal served in the school is very poor. The students have been complaining about it for a long time. Today we caught them red-handed."

Earlier on January 6, the West Bengal government decided to serve chicken and seasonal fruits in the mid-day meal for four months starting January and allocated ₹371 crore to start it.

According to an official notification, chicken and seasonal fruits will be served once weekly for four months for additional nutrition under PM Poshan.

Notably, in the new scheme, an amount of ₹20 per week will be spent to provide additional nutrition to each student and the process will continue for 16 weeks.

Currently, students are given rice, pulses, vegetables, soybeans and eggs in schools as part of the mid-day meal.

The additional content will be served on different days of the week in each block from January 23 to April 23.