Chapra/Patna: With the death of two more children, the toll due to consumption of spurious midday meal at a government primary school in Bihar’s Saran district rose to 22 on Wednesday.
While 16 children, aged below 10 years and studying in Class I to V, had died in Chhapra itself, four others were declared dead on arrival at Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH) late Tuesday night.
Two died at the hospital on Wednesday morning, official and PMCH sources said.
Among the dead were two children of a woman cook of the midday meal project Panno Devi. Three children of another woman cook Manju Devi are under treatment at PMCH along with her.
Twenty five others are under medical supervision in PMCH, Superintendent of PMCH Amarkant Jha Azad said.
The Superintendent said the ailing children were admitted to ICU of paediatric department and senior doctors were attending to them round-the-clock.
The tragedy took place at the government primary school in Dahrmasati Gandawan village at Mashrakh block, about 25 km from Chhapra and 60 km from state capital on Tuesday.
One girl Kanti Kumari, a student of class IV who is admitted to the paediatric ward of PMCH, recalled that when students complained that the food tasted bad, the school head mistress Meena Devi rebuked them and asked to finish the meal. “As we felt pain in the stomach, the head mistress asked us to go home. I fell unconscious on the way,” she said.
The woman cook Manju Devi, who is also being treated at PMCH, said the ingredients for cooking the meal were provided to her by the husband of the school’s head mistress. Manju Devi’s three children, including two sons and a daughter, are with her in the PMCH.
Amarjit Singh, additional secretary in Union HRD ministry, who has come to Patna in wake of the midday meal tragedy, visited PMCH on Wednesday along with state Principal Secretary (Health) Vyasji and sought details from doctors about the health of the victims.
RJD President Lalu Prasad also visited PMCH to meet the children. Describing the incident as “tragic”, Prasad blamed Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for the deaths.
The RJD chief told reporters at the hospital that despite regular complaints about midday meal scheme in different parts of the state, the Nitish Kumar government initiated no action.
“Nitish Kumar is busy saving his chair and fighting with its erstwhile NDA partner BJP and has left masses on mercy of god,” Prasad said.
Prasad alleged that a minister in the state government was supplying material for the midday meal scheme through an NGO and demanded probe against him.
BJP Vice President C P Thakur, himself a doctor, who visited PMCH, told reporters it appears to be a case of acute poisoning. He said as per reports traces of organo phoshphrous have been found in the meal served to children which is poisonous.
Demanding action against the accused, Bihar Congress chief Ashok Chaudhary said at PMCH that his party has in the past pointed irregularities in midday meal scheme in the state.
Hitting out at Nitish Kumar government, the state PCC chief said the Bihar government cannot escape the blame and should initiate action against the district administration for handling the situation in an “insensitive” manner.
Some women groups staged protest in Patna and also attacked the Midday meal scheme state office. The agitated women broke flower pots in the office and also damaged table, chair and other properties. Youth Congress workers led by its former state president Lallan Kumar and youth leader Rohit Kumar burnt effigy of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at Dak Bunglow chowk in the state capital.
The head mistress of the school is absconding with her family. (PTI)