A horrifying incident unfolded at a Bihar school when more than 70 students were hospitalized following their mid-day meal, sparking outrage over food safety lapses. The mishap occurred at Ummat Middle School in Madhepura’s Sahugarh area, where children reported intense abdominal cramps, nausea, vertigo, unease, and panic attacks soon after lunch.
The school premises turned chaotic as sick children clutched their stomachs and vomited profusely. Alarmed parents converged on the site, helping ferry the unwell kids to the nearest government hospital in Madhepura. Medical teams worked round-the-clock, stabilizing the majority, but one young girl battles serious complications.
Reports suggest a dead lizard contaminated the meal, prepared and delivered by an NGO partnered with the government’s nutrition initiative. While unconfirmed, samples are under forensic analysis in a laboratory. DEO Sanjay Kumar rushed to the scene, vowing zero tolerance for culpability.
Parents vented their fury, accusing officials of poor oversight in the flagship program meant to combat malnutrition. ‘How can we send our children to school if their meals poison them?’ one distraught mother questioned during the demonstration.
This tragedy underscores systemic flaws in monitoring meal quality, storage, and distribution. Bihar’s education department faces mounting pressure to overhaul protocols, implement stricter vendor audits, and enforce hygiene norms. Until real reforms take hold, such scares will continue to haunt families and undermine the program’s noble goals.