More than 150 children fell ill after eating a contaminated mid-day meal at a government school in Bihar’s Saharsa district on Thursday, officials said. According to reports, a baby snake was found in the cooked dal served to the children at the school. The incident took place at a middle school in Baluaha village, where several students reportedly started complaining of stomach pain and vomiting soon after eating lunch . They were immediately rushed to hospital for treatment.
According to officials, 115 children were admitted to the Sadar Hospital, while around 50 others were taken to the Mahishi Public Health Centre for treatment.
"We received information that several children fell ill after consuming the mid-day meal in Baluaha. The children were initially treated at the primary health centre, but later, many were referred to the Sadar Hospital," Saharsa District Magistrate Deepesh Kumar said.
"According to doctors, the health condition of the children has improved, but they will be kept under observation for some time. There is no need to panic. Some kids are having mild fever. They are being treated accordingly," Kumar said.
Meanwhile, family members of some students alleged that a snake was found inside the container in which cooked pulses had been stored at the school. The mid-day was supplied to school by an NGO and the school store and serve the food to children.
Parents also claimed that out of the 545 students present in the school, around 200 had already eaten the meal before the snake was noticed. Responding to the allegations, the district magistrate said food samples had been collected for testing. "We will be able to comment on this only after the results of the tested samples arrive," he said.
On viral photo circulating on social media, of a baby snake in dal, Shreyansh Tiwari SDM said, ''Look, the photos that go viral, evidence of its authenticity until we do that. So, that's also being investigated. Food from NGOs goes to many schools. Food is being made in one place. This didn't happen in the other schools..''
Further investogation is underway.
Aditi Pandey is a passionate journalist with over three years of experience in the digital newsroom. She has covered politics, crime and world news, w...View More
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