On Monday (January 9), a primary school in Mayureswar block in the Birbhum district of West Bengal served snake-infested dal in a mid-day meal, rendering 20 out of the total 53 students sick.
While some children were admitted to the Rampurhat Medical College and Hospital, others were rushed to the Saithiyan block hospital. The incident took place at the Mandalpur Prathamik Vidyalaya.
The snake was discovered in the vessel containing lentils. By the time the school staffer took notice of the reptile, several students had already consumed the food. Others were immediately stopped from eating their mid-day meal.
মিডডে মিলের ডালে সাপ#Birbhum #Middaymeal #Snake #Student pic.twitter.com/AtrZo0cVD8
— The Wall (@TheWallTweets) January 10, 2023
“We had to rush the children to Rampurhat Medical College and Hospital as they started vomiting,” a kitchen staffer told India Today. Reportedly, all the hospitalised children have now been discharged, barring one who is said to be out of danger.
Once the news of the incident spread, villagers gheraoed the school Headmaster, identified as Nimai Chandra Dey, and vandalised his two-wheeler. On receiving information about the matter, the police rushed to the spot and rescued him from the angry mob.
The parents of the affected children have squarely blamed the cook and the teacher, responsible for supervising the mid-day meal preparation. Block Development Officer (BDO) Dipanjan Jana informed that the district inspector of primary schools will visit the Mandalpur Prathamik Vidyalaya on Tuesday (January 10).
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Primary Education Board Praloy Naik visited the hospitals and took cognisance of the matter. He remarked, “There has been carelessness. Those responsible for cooking and serving food to children should be more alert.”
Parents of Muslim students protest over ‘Jhatka’ chicken served in mid-day meal
Earlier this month, family members of Muslim students of a school in the east Medinipur district of West Bengal staged a protest against an alleged attempt to ‘desecrate’ their faith by feeding ‘Jhatka’ chicken to Muslim students.
The reported incident took place in Mahisadal Raj High School in east Medinipur. The parents of Muslim students demanded the resignation of the school principal for serving non-halal meat to Muslim students.
