146 schoolchildren were taken to hospital after they fell ill after consuming mid-day meal at a government school in Bagaha sub-division in Bihar’s West Champaran district on Thursday, officials said.
Bagaha’s sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Dr Anupama Singh said as many as 146 schoolchildren of Rajkiya Madhya Vidyalaya at Barwal village were brought to the subdivision hospital in Bagaha after some students complained of uneasiness and stomach aches after eating their midday meal.
“While about 100 students were admitted with mild symptoms with reads food poisoning, others were kept under active observations of the doctors,” said the SDM.
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According to school headmaster Sudhir Kumar Mishra, around 275 students ate the mid-day meal in the first batch, which had to be stopped after the students complained about the quality of the food.
“Soon after some students started retching and complained of uneasiness and stomach ache, they were rushed to hospital by ambulances,” said Mishra, adding around 800 students were present in the school as against 1200 enrolled.
Officials suspect the quality issue in the cooked vegetables served during the meal.
“The students found the vegetable tasted insipid and somewhat sour,” said Dinesh Kumar Rai, district magistrate (DM), West Champaran, after he visited the subdivision hospital at Bagaha.
When contacted, West Champaran’s civil surgeon Shrikant Dubey described the students’ condition as stable. “Necessary medication is being provided. The condition of students is stable,” said Dubey.
