Bihar: 146 School Children Land In Hospital After Eating Mid-Day Meal

PATNA: Food poisoning of school children from mid-day meals in Bihar has become a routine affair, as again on Thursday, 146 schoolchildren were taken to hospital after they complained of feeling sick after consuming mid-day meal at a government school in Bagaha sub-division of West Champaran district in Bihar, officials said.

As many as 146 schoolchildren of Rajkiya Madhya Vidyalaya at Barwal village were brought to the Bagaha subdivision hospital after some students complained of uneasiness and stomach aches after eating their midday meal, Bagaha’s sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Dr Anupama Singh said.

“While about 100 students were admitted with mild symptoms of food poisoning, others were kept under active observations of the doctors,” said the SDM.

School headmaster Sudhir Kumar Mishra explained that around 275 students partook of the mid-day meal in the first batch. However, the meal had to be stopped after the students complained about the quality of the food.

“Soon after some students started retching and complained of uneasiness and stomach ache, they were rushed to hospital by ambulances,” said Mishra. The headmaster added that, as against 1200 enrolled, around 800 students were present in the school.

The quality issue in the cooked vegetables served during the meal is making the officials suspicious.

West Champaran district magistrate (DM), Dinesh Kumar Rai, after visiting the subdivision hospital at Bagaha said, “The students found the vegetable tasted insipid and somewhat sour.”

There is suspicion that vegetables that have crossed the recommended shelf life were used in the mid-day meal.

West Champaran civil surgeon Shrikant Dubey described the students’ condition as stable and that necessary medication is being provided. “The condition of students is stable,” said Dubey.

Earlier, on May 29, About 25 schoolchildren of a middle school at Thoothi Panchayat in Bihar’s Supaul district fell ill allegedly after consuming mid-day meal in which a dead lizard was found

The incident comes three days after 100 schoolchildren had fallen ill in Araria after consuming mid-day meal in which a dead snake was found.

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