Apathy snuffs out young lives

Like everyday, Manju Devi, the “sevika” who survives on a meagre monthly salary of Rs 1,000, prepared “khichdi” and potato-soyabean curry for 102 children at Dharmasati Primary School at Masrakh in Saran district on Tuesday.

Everything was fine till 12:30 pm when the children had their lunch. Around 1:30 pm, four children of Class II started vomiting. Soon, others complained of acute stomach pain. Similar complaints were heard in other class rooms. Headmistress Meena Kumari was caught unawares.

Within minutes, nearly 85 children were lying on the ground writhing in pain. Manju Devi, the cook, was also one of them. As the news spread, locals rushed in along with the parents of the children. The children were rushed to Masrakh Primary Health Centre (PHC). But there was only one doctor and a compounder, not enough to handle so many critical cases at a time.

The parents then rushed to Sadar Hospital, where the doctors pressed the panic button. The civil surgeon was informed. He asked all the doctors in nearby blocks to rush to the hospital and, in the meantime, sent many critically ill children to Chapra, some 35 km from there. By that time, five hours had elapsed, and seven children died.

Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Prabhunath Singh, who won a by-poll from nearby Maharajganj last month, arranged mini buses and despatched children with their parents to Chapra. But the doctors there were not prepared to take any chance as the death toll by then had risen to 11. They referred a majority of the children to Patna.

Even as best child specialists were pressed into service, the toll rose to 22 on Wednesday. Locals insisted that at least 35 children have died due to government apathy and negligence.

“The teacher at the government school had told me that, apart from education, my son Shiva would also get free midday meal. Had I known then that some day this would be the cause for his untimely death, I would not have got him admitted to any school,” said the grieving mother of Shiva. She asked the chief minister, “Ab key hamar bharpai kareein (Now who will compensate my loss)?”