Lizard in mid-day meal in Indore

When about 15 children, aged between six and 10, sat down cross-legged at a government school here for the mid-day meal, they wouldn’t have guessed the dish awaiting them — boiled lizard!

School help Kamla Bai noticed a dead lizard in the container of dal that was just about to be served.

She informed school principal Badrilal Rathore, who stopped the distribution of food, and informed Satish Tiwari, the supervisor appointed by Naandi Foundation, the NGO that runs the mid-day meal kitchens across the country.

“I will submit a written complaint to the authorities about this,” said Rathore.

The mid-day meal, funded by the government, is the world’s largest school lunch programme and provides daily meals to 12 crore children across India. Its goal is to protect children from classroom hunger, address the problem of malnutrition and improve school enrolment and attendance, among others.

Lata, mother of 6-year-old Sonam, said: “I send my child to school even during the summer break at the insistence of the staff. She generally doesn’t eat vegetables and chappati, but enjoys dal-rice. But now, I’ve told her not to eat there anymore.”

Even 24 hours after the incident was reported, no official from the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC), under which the Naandi Foundation functions, the school education department or the health department have visited the school.

IMC Commissioner C.B. Singh said: “We’ve ordered an inquiry into the incident.