Lizard found in mid-day meal at Haryana village
The string of midday meal tragedies continue as a dead lizard was found in the midday meal here on Monday, prior to consumption by the students of a government school.
The string of midday meal tragedies continue as a dead lizard was found in the midday meal here on Monday, prior to consumption by the students of a government school.
The students complained that it was not the first incident of its kind and that poisonous insects have been found in their midday 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.
Reacting to the incident, 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 time' for the school.
Local administration has promised strong action against the organisation that supplies the mid day meals. "We demand strong action 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 midday meal well before the meal was served to the school 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 ISKON trust, which is the reported supplier of the meals in the area. According to sources, ISKON has still not apologised for the incident.
Over 100 students had fallen sick after eating food served at a school in Neyveli and the midday meal tragedy in Bihar that claimed lives of 23 children last week. Since then, additional similar incidents have been reported in Bihar and Tamil Nadu.
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