24 students fall sick after consuming mid-day meal at Gaya school

PATNA: Twenty-four students fell sick after consuming mid-day meal served at a school in Bihar’s Gaya district on Wednesday, said administration officials.

According to officials, the incident came to light after one of the students, identified as Chhoti Kumari, of Kastoorba Vidyalaya, Maigra, started vomiting in the class after eating the meal. “After I ate two rotis, I found a dead lizard in the vegetable and I felt sick,” she alleged.

Soon after, other students also fell sick and were shifted to the primary health centre, officials said.

The school administration shifted the sick students to the nearby PHC and informed the police and administration about the incident. Dumaria circle officer reached the school and health centre to take stock of the situation.

The food samples could not be collected as it was thrown away, officials said.

The Gaya district administration took cognisance of the matter and said action will be taken against the school headmaster and others if found guilty. “It is also being probed who was the person who threw the food away. Further investigation will be done on the basis of the report,” said a district administration official familiar with the matter.

Narendra Tripathi, headmaster of the school told HT that after eating the mid-day meal over two dozen students complained of stomach ache and vomiting.

PHC-in-charge Dharmveer Kumar admitted that the school authority brought 24 students for treatment. Eight are undergoing treatment while the others were shifted to another place by the health department, officials said.