Increasing population so do issues

Increasing population has placed authorities monitoring the welfare projects in a fix. For increasing population and degrading environment are identified as simultaneous threats.

About 26 students were taken ill due to food poisoning after consuming mid-day meal. They were taken to Satyawadi Raja Harish Chandra Hospital. If the hospital authorities are to be believed, the students of Senior Secondary School in Narela complained of abdominal pain.

Some of the students have been discharged. The rest are likely to be discharged later in the day, a doctor at the hospital said.

Following the development, the Delhi government's Education Department has called a meeting of all midday suppliers in the national capital tomorrow.

This is second such incident within a week. Two girls were taken ill after having mid-day meal on Saturday at a Delhi government school in East Delhi's Khichdipur in which a dead lizard was allegedly found.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had on Monday conducted surprise inspection in two kitchens in the city where the meals were being prepared for distribution in schools and warned the workers of strict action if any irregularities were found in future.

"The Education Director has called a meeting of all mid-day meal suppliers tomorrow. I have directed that there should be regular monitoring of the kitchens where meals are prepared. If any of them is found not meeting the required standards, their contract will be cancelled," Sisodia told mediapersons.

Social Welfare Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam also visited the hospital where the girls were admitted.

It may be mentioned here that over 20 children in Bihar's Saran district died of insecticide poisoning after consuming food served under mid-day meal scheme, government agencies seem to have forgotten the serious concern over handling and banning of hazardous chemicals that the tragedy raised.

The children of Dharmasati-Gandaman Primary School were served food prepared in cooking oil that had been kept in a can of insecticide, which led to their painful and agonising death.

Focus on infrastructure, not health

But in Gandaman village where the tragedy occurred, the focus of the district authorities is on providing a new school building, community hall and roads to the village.

Nigam Prakash, head of paediatrics department at Patna Medical College and Hospital, who treated the students from Dharmasati-Gandaman Primary School, revealed that the hospital on an average receives five to seven cases of pesticide poisoning among children each week.

“There is need for proper handling of pesticide or even banning them,” he said. He also warned that pesticide side-effect is a long term affair. Poisoning by monocrotophos insecticide leads to accumulation of toxin in the fats of children that releases slowly. “It might lead to convulsions even five years after treatment,” he said.

More cases of food poisoning

Claims of the state government notwithstanding, the incidents of mid-day meal poisoning continue. Altogether 25 children of Sonebarsa Upgraded Middle School in Bihar fell sick after consuming mid-day meal in which a lizard had fallen. Children of Bahadurpur Middle School in Dharbhanga protested after they were served mid-day meal that had worms.