Midday meal supervisor suspended

The Bihar government on Sunday suspended an education department official from service who was responsible for monitoring the midday meal of a school in Saran district where 23 children died after eating contaminated food, officials said.

 The house of Meena Kumari, the headmistress of the school at Gandaman village who has been untraceable and on the run since the incident, was again raided and an empty bottle of pesticide seized, police said.

Block education extension officer Satyendra Kumar Singh was placed under suspension for alleged lapses in monitoring the midday meal scheme at the school.
Amarjeet Sinha, principal secretary, education, confirmed the action against Satyendra Kumar Singh. “A decision was taken to suspend him on the basis of a report of the two-member high-level committee comprising divisional commissioner of Saran and deputy inspector general of police that found him guilty of negligence of duty,” said Sinha.

Meena Kumari also has also been suspended from service for gross negligence. According to district officials, a first information report has  been registered against her on penal charges of murder and criminal conspiracy.

Safety norms

 Facing the ire of people over the midday meal tragedy, the Bihar government plans to provide printed instructions to school principals about food quality and safety besides painting the norms on the schools walls, reports PTI from Patna. “We are readying detailed instructions about maintaining quality and safety of food served under midday meal scheme in schools,” Director Midday Meal Scheme, R Lakshmanan said.

The instructions being prepared with the help of food experts will include giving knowledge to principals about first aid measures in cases like that of Dharmasati Gandaman primary school in Saran district.