125 school kids taken ill after eating midday meals in UP

As many as 125 students of two government schools in Uttar Pradesh were taken ill after consuming midday meals on Wednesday. Hundred students of a primary school were taken ill after eating 'kheer' (a sweet dish) served to them in the midday meal in Badaun district, District Magistrate Chandra Prakash Tewari said.

The children in Agori village of the district complained of vomiting and stomach ache after eating the dish on Wednesday afternoon, Tewari said.

While 18 children were taken to the nearby health centre, others were given primary treatment at the school itself, he said. The dish and the utensil in which it was cooked have been seized, and a team comprising the chief medical officer and others has been constituted to probe into the matter.

In another similar incident, 25 children of a government school were taken ill after eating midday meal in Baghaula area of the district. The victims complained of vomiting after consuming 'kadhi-chawal', served to them in the midday meal and were later rushed to the Bilriyaganj Community Health Centre, the police said.

Of them, 15 were still undergoing treatment while the rest were discharged after first-aid. According to Chief Medical Officer B B Singh, sample of food served to the students has been taken and is being sent for test.

However, the students had complained that a lizard had fallen in the food. Meanwhile, Basic Shiksha Adhikari Samarrun Pradhan said investigations were on and those found guilty would be punished.

Meanwhile, the Delhi high court on Wednesday sought Centre's response on a PIL alleging that nutritional value in mid day meal provided to children in schools is far below stipulated norms under the scheme.

A division bench of Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justice Pradeep Nandrajog issued notice to the Ministry of Human Resource Development and sought its response by November 6. 

The notice followed an argument by advocate Ashok Agarwal pointing that state government has admitted the fact and written to the Centre that food is not meeting nutritional norms, and urged the court to make the Centre a party in the public interest litigation alleging that substandard mid day meals have been provided to children in various government schools.