‘Poisonous’ idlis taken off PMC-run school menu

Rattled by the incident of alleged food poisoning of 135 children of the PMC-run school at Janata Vasahat, Parvati Paitha, the education board has decided to open a central kitchen for supplying mid-day meals.

On Saturday, 135 students of the Sitaram Narayan Gavade Girls’s School (No 5), run by the education board of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), were admitted to city hospitals after they showed symptoms of food poisoning after eating idlis served to them in their mid-day meal.

The meals were served to them by Sai self-help group run by Rani Satish Ovhal and three other women.

Ramachandra Jadhav, education officer of the PMC, stated that they have accelerated the process of inviting tenders for setting up a central kitchen. “The central kitchen would cater to 25,000 students at a single go,” he said. The tiffins would be sealed at the kitchens when they would be served to the students.

More than 2 lakh students are served the mid-day meals, which at present are being cooked by women running the self-help groups under the Savitri consortium of self-help groups.

Also, Jadhav stated that idlis had been taken off the menu of the mid-day meals. “A flying squad would be constituted to monitor the whole running of the mid-day meal schemes,” he said. The flying squad would report to the education board every evening about the status of the midday meal being served.

Meanwhile, Dattawadi police station has registered a case against Ovhal, Chaya Ingale, 35, Asha Ingale, 38, and Kalavati Bindra, 20, all residents of Janata Vasahat, for their alleged involvement in the case. On Sunday, they were granted bail.
Sub-inspector Neeraj Ubale is investigating the case.