25 schoolchildren fall ill after consuming mid-day meal in Bihar’s Supaul

District education officer (DEO) Surendra Kumar said the children may have fallen ill due to extreme heat

About 25 schoolchildren of a middle school at Thoothi Panchayat in Bihar’s Supaul district fell ill allegedly after consuming mid-day meal in which a dead lizard was found.

(File Photo)

The incident comes three days after 100 schoolchildren had fallen ill in Araria after consuming mid-day meal in which a dead snake was found.

District education officer (DEO) Surendra Kumar said the children may have fallen ill due to extreme heat. “About 25 schoolchildren were taken to Narpatganj primary health centre in neighbouring Araria district,” Kumar said.

He added, “All the children had gone home, and three children fell sick with vomiting.”

“Saline was administered to three children, and now they are recovering. The children are out of danger,” said doctors at the Narpatganj primary health clinic, adding it was a case of food poisoning.

A dead lizard was reportedly found by a class IV student, and soon as the news spread, parents and guardians of the children gathered at the school compound and rushed their children to nearby hospitals.

DEO Kumar said that the mid-day meal was cooked in school under the supervision of Vidyalaya Shiksha Samiti. He further directed the district programme officer (DPO) to probe the incident based on which action will be taken.