More than 150 children fell ill after consuming food that was part of the midday meal at a school in Bihar’s Saharsa district, a senior official said on Thursday.
The incident took place at a high school in Baluaha village in the district, PTI reported, adding that family members of some children claimed that a snake was found in a container where cooked pulses were kept in the school.
Meanwhile, an NDTV report said a baby snake was found in the midday meal served to children. It claimed, “Like any other day, midday meal provided by an NGO was served to the school children on Thursday.
“When the food was served and the children started eating, a baby snake was found while serving the food to one of the students. Soon, almost all the children, one by one, started complaining of stomach ache,” it added.
Of the 545 students present in the school, 200 had already eaten their food by the time the snake was spotted and later complained of stomach pain and vomiting, PTI quoted officials as saying.
After the incident, the school management alerted the police and the hospital. Before long, the police arrived and took some of the children to the local health center in their own vehicles.
Subsequently, ambulances sent by the hospital arrived to transport the remaining children, many of whom remained in critical condition for a considerable time, NDTV reported.
According to PTI, the official said that 115 children are undergoing treatment at Sadar Hospital, while around 50 students have been admitted at Mahishi Public Health Centre.
“We got information that several children fell ill after consuming mid-day meal at Baluaha. The children were initially treated at the primary health center but later many were sent to Sadar Hospital,” Saharsa District Magistrate Deepesh Kumar said.
“According to doctors, the health of the children has improved but they will be under observation for some time. There is no need to panic. Some children have mild fever. They are being treated accordingly,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile, family members of some children claimed that a snake was found in a container in which cooked pulses were kept at the school.
Of the 545 students present at the school, 200 had already eaten food when the snake was spotted and later complained of stomach aches and vomiting, they said.
Regarding the allegation, the DM said food samples were taken from the school.
“We will be able to comment on this only after the results of the tested samples arrive,” he said.
