West Bengal: Dead rat, lizard found in mid-day meal in Malda; locals create ruckus

A ruckus erupted after a rat and lizard were found in mid-day meal in a school in Bengal's Malda. While speaking to ANI, a local said that the quality of the mid-day meal is terrible and the students have been complaining about it for quite some time, but authorities have not taken any concrete action. Meanwhile, Malda District Magistrate Nitin Singhania said the case of a dead lizard and rat found in a mid-day meal has come to notice and now authorities will take strict actions.

"The case of dead lizard and rat found in mid-day meal has come to our notice. Strict action will be taken against those who are responsible for it," said Singhania.

West Bengal: Dead rat, lizard found in mid-day meal in Malda school

"The quality of the mid-day meal provided in the school is terrible. Students have been complaining about it for a long time. Today we have caught them red-handed," said another local. This came after the TMC-led government in West Bengal directed schools to serve chicken and seasonal fruits in mid-day meals for four months starting in January and allotted Rs 371 crore for introducing the same. Under the PM POSHAN scheme, chicken and seasonal fruits will be served to all the students once a week for four months for additional nutrition.

It is worth noting here that under the new scheme, an amount of Rs 20 will be spent per week on providing additional nutrition to every student, and the process will continue for four months. According to media reports, currently, schools in West Bengal are serving students rice, pulses, vegetables, soybean, and eggs as part of mid-day meals. Whereas, some additional items will also be provided to the students from January 23 till April 23 in every block on different days of the week.

However, this is not the first time that schools have served low-standard food to the students. Last year in November, as many as 25 children in Andhra Pradesh's Sri Sathya Sai district became ill after having food supplied by the school authorities under the government's Mid-Day Meal scheme. The incident occurred in a municipal primary school in Kadiri.

Image: PTI/ Representative