79 fall ill after eating mid-day meal in Rajasthan

At least 79 students of a government school in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara district on Tuesday fell ill after consuming their mid-day meal in which a dead lizard was found.

The incident took place at around 10.30 am at Government Upper Primary School (Mali Mullaha) in Banera tehsil of the Bhilwara after the students were served dal and rice as their mid-day meals.

The students after having the food complained of stomach ache, cramps and threw up.
Later, one student showed the dead lizard to the school authorities in the food served to them.

The school authorities immediately asked all students to stop eating and threw away the entire food. They then informed the district administration about the incident.

Subsequently, all students aged between 8 and 15 were rushed to the Community Health Center in Banera.

District collector of Bhilwara, Onkar Singh, while speaking to dna said, “79 students were admitted to the hospital after having the poisonous mid-day meal on Tuesday morning, in which a dead lizard was found. All the students are out of danger and have been discharged from the hospital. Only one girl was shifted to a hospital in Bhilwara on the request for her parents after her condition worsened,” he said adding the school management did not taste the food before serving it to the students, which was compulsory for them

The officials also informed that a total of 247 students were enrolled in the school, of which, 185 were present in the school on Tuesday. Of these, 79 had consumed mid-day meals. A committee has also been formed to probe the whole issue and the food has been sent to the laboratory.