51 children taken ill after midday meal in West Champaran school
Locals said the children complained of uneasiness and stomach ache after they ate their midday meal on Friday.
At least 51 children fell ill and had to be hospitalised after allegedly consuming midday meal at a government school in a village Bihar’s West Champaran district on Friday.
Confirming the incident, West Champaran’s deputy development commissioner (DDC) Anil Kumar said 51 students belonging to Rajkiya Utkramit Madhya Vidhalaya at Babu Tola village, which falls under Parsa panchayat in Majhauliya block, had to be hospitalised at Majhauliya public health centre (PHC).
“Conditions of these children are stable. However, four of them had to be referred to the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) at Bettiah,” he said.
Locals said the children complained of uneasiness and stomach ache after they ate their midday meal on Friday.
West Champaran’s civil surgeon Dr Shrikant Dubey said, “Prima facie, it’s a case of food poisoning. However, the exact cause would be known after the examination of the food sample.”
GMCH’s deputy superintendent Dr Rajesh Kumar described the condition of four children hospitalised there as stable. “They will be under our observation for 12 hours,” he said.
Meanwhile, state unit of Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) accused the state government of playing fraud with school children’s life.
“Due to the gross negligence of government and officials, children of a government school fell ill,” said Janak Chamar, BJP’s spokesperson and a member of legislative council (MLC), demanding a high-level inquiry into the matter.