At least 11 children died and 50 others were admitted to hospital in critical condition after they had midday meal in a government primary school at Masrakh in Bihar’s Saran district on Tuesday. Unofficial sources, however, said around 80 children have fallen ill. The toll may rise as many of them are critical.
The incident occurred at Dharmasati Primary School, nearly 20 km from district headquarters, Chapra. “The children, mostly students from Class I to IV, fell ill soon after eating a meal of rice, pulse and vegetable,” said an eyewitness. Many of them started vomiting before falling unconscious. “The sevika, who had cooked the food and consumed the same meal, has also been hospitalised,” he added.
Angry parents took to the streets and gheraoed the Masrakh police station.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who expressed shock over the deaths, convened an emergency Cabinet meeting and ordered an inquiry into the incident. “Experts from the Forensic Science Laboratory team will help the investigation which will be jointly carried out by the Saran divisional commissioner and the DIG,” said an official in the Chief Minister’s Secretariat.
Kumar, who had earlier summoned Bihar Education Minister P K Sahi, instructed authorities concerned to provide free and the best available medical treatment to the children.
While some of the children were admitted to Masarakh hospital, many of them were rushed to Chapra and Patna.
The chief minister also announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each to families of the deceased. While Rs 1.5 lakh will be given from the disaster management fund, the rest will be paid from the chief minister’s relief fund.
Over the years, several incidents have been reported from Bihar where children found lizards, frogs and other elements in their midday meal. Criticising the chief minister, BJP spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Rajiv Pratap Rudy said: “Such lax administration did not exist even during Lalu’s regime.”
Incidentally, Masarakh falls under Saran, the Lok Sabha constituency of Lalu Prasad Yadav, who minced no words in slamming Kumar.
“This is a complete administrative failure. The chief minister has no time for governance. All he is interested is to cobble up a majority to stay afloat,” said Lalu.
The Human Resource Development Ministry has also sent a senior official to Chapra.