In a horrific incident, a snake was found in the mid-day meal provided to children of Mandalpur Primary School in Birbhum district of West Bengal. Several students of the school in Dheka area of the Mayureshwar II block were hospitalised on Monday afternoon after consuming the meal, reported ANI.
Officials said that around 20 of the total 53 students were present in the school at the time of the meal. A school staff claimed that a snake was found in one of the containers that contained lentils.
The students were rushed to the Rampurhat Medical College Hospital after they started falling ill. They were discharged from the hospital later.
The school’s principal Nimai Chandra Dey said that two women were cooking and one of the staff Chameli Bagdi was serving the food, when she saw a snake while serving the lentils.
As the news spread, angry villagers gheraoed the school principal and vandalised his two-wheeler, police said. He was rescued by cops later.
Primary Education Board Chairman Praloy Naik said he checked on the children at the hospital, adding that it was negligence on part of the cooks.
A parent Anjali Konai complained that the children who had the food where the snake was found started vomiting, as reported by Bengali website Anandabazar Patrika Online.
Another local resident named Karna Sarkar told the website, “The place where the mid-day meal is prepared is in unhygienic condition. While cooking, the snake must have made its way to the food, and that is why 25-30 children fell ill. When the food is cooked, there is no supervision, and the food is also not covered. We have informed the police the matter.”
In another incident, a rat and a lizard were found on mid-day meal provided in a school in Malda district of the state, following which locals created a ruckus.
“The case of dead lizard and rat found in mid-day meal has come to our notice. Strict action is taken against those who are responsible for it,” said Malda District Magistrate Nitin Singhania, as quoted by ANI.