AAP attacks govt after detergent fed to students in Bihar mid-day meal: ‘What could be more shameful?’

After consuming the detergent mixed food, some students complained of dizziness and began vomiting

Over a dozen children fell ill at a school in Bihar's Nalanda after being allegedly fed detergent powder instead of salt in their mid-day meal. The incident sparked massive outrage online, with several Opposition parties attacking the government.

The mid-day meal, comprising soybean rice, was supplied by an NGO as per the prescribed menu. (AFP/Representational Image)

The Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday reacted to the incident and called it “shameful.” Taking to X, the official handle of the party noted that when students in Nalanda, Bihar asked for salt in their mid-day meal, they were given detergent powder due to which 35 students were rushed to the hospital.

“Think about it—what could be more shameful than this?” it wrote on X.

What actually happened?

School principal Shailendra Kumar Singh said the mid-day meal, comprising soybean rice, was supplied by an NGO as per the prescribed menu.

However, some students complained that the food lacked salt. The containers of salt and detergent powder had reportedly been kept at the same place in the kitchen, and the cook allegedly mistook the detergent for salt and added it to the food, locals claimed.

After consuming the detergent mixed food, some students complained of dizziness and began vomiting. While they were initially given first aid, they were later shifted to Sadar Hospital after their condition did not improve.

Civil Surgeon Dr Jay Prakash Singh visited the hospital and took stock of the students' condition. He said all the children were out of danger.

Bihar Rural Development Minister Shravan Kumar also visited the hospital and met the affected students. He also spoke to doctors about their condition.

Kumar said a detailed inquiry would be conducted to ascertain how the alleged lapse occurred in the preparation and serving of the mid-day meal.

Two teachers suspended in Hardoi

Earlier this month, two teachers, including the headmaster of a primary school, were suspended in Uttar Pradesh’s Hardoi after an inquiry substantiated complaints about the poor quality of the mid-day meals served to students, officials said.

The suspended teachers were headmaster Rajesh Kumar and assistant teacher Vinod Kumar of Primary School Kotra in the Tadiyawan development block.

The issue came to light after a video showing students being served the mid-day meal at the school circulated widely on social media. Following the video’s emergence, the Basic Education Department ordered an inquiry, according to PTI.

According to officials, the investigation found irregularities in the arrangements for serving the mid-day meal and confirmed concerns over the quality of the food.

Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) Prabhat Mishra then subsequently ordered the suspension of both teachers. Notices have also been issued to the cooks preparing meals at the school, seeking their responses.