UP Shocker: 40 students in Etah school hospitalised after consuming mid-day meal

In another case of gross negligence, students of the Kasturba Gandhi School in Uttar Pradesh’s Etah fell prey to food poisoning on Friday. What makes the case shocking was that the food poisoning was caused due to consumption of mid-day meal at the school. More than 40 students of the school have been admitted to a hospital after consuming the mid-day meal. Following the incident, Etah District Magistrate Amit Kishore has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident. This is not the first time that schools in Uttar Pradesh have been shown in bad light over mid-day meal scheme. In March last year, around 125 children were taken ill after consuming mid-day meal at a primary school in Belhari. They had consumed a meal of puri, chole and kheer after which they started vomiting and had loose motions. They were rushed to the district hospital and were stated to be out of danger. Four teachers were suspended, while services of five others terminated after the incident. In August, around 220 students fell ill after having puri and sabzi in the mid-day meal at a school in Sitapur. These incidents of negligence are not limited to Uttar Pradesh. In Thiruvananthapuram earlier this year, 114 school students, aged between four and 10, were hospitalised as they complained of uneasiness after having the food in school. Around 230 students were also taken ill allegedly after eating food in different schools in Odisha’s Malkangiri and Kalahandi districts in September last year. In the wake of various cases of food poisoning in schools in recent times, the Supreme Court in August last year had asked the Centre and states on how were they monitoring the implementation and hygiene of the mid-day meal schemes in government schools in the country. In March last year, the apex court had asked state governments and union territories to upload information including the total number of students getting the benefit of the mid-day meal scheme within three months on their websites. Source: Financial Express