Bihar school meal poisoning incident
Location of Bihar in India
Location Mashrakh, Bihar, India
Date July 16, 2013
Deaths 23–27
Injured (non-fatal) ~25
On 16 July 2013, at least 23 students died and dozens more fell ill after eating a contaminated free meal at a primary school, in Dharmashati Gandaman village, Mashrakh block, Saran district, Bihar, India.[1][2] Angered by the deaths and illnesses, villagers took to the streets in many parts of the district in violent protest.[3]
Contents
1 Background
2 Incident
3 Cause
4 Reaction
5 Notes and references
Background
Across India, the Midday Meal Scheme provides roughly 120 million children with free lunches, making it the world's largest school lunch program.[4] Inspite of corruption involved in implementing the scheme, it aims to fight widespread poverty, improve children's school attendance and health, as large number of India's children suffer from malnutrition.[5][6]
Bihar in northern India is among the nation's poorest states.[7] According to Mashrakh residents, students have suffered from food poisoning after eating school lunches on multiple occasions.[8] Bihar's education minister, P. K. Shahi, said complaints about food quality were not uncommon, but that there were no reported incidents of widespread food poisoning during his tenure.[5] The nonprofit Iskcon Food Relief Foundation says the meal programs in Bihar and neighbouring Uttar Pradesh are the worst in India. Public health is poor in general, with most water sources contaminated, and hospitals are underfunded.[3]
The primary school in the village of Dharmashati Gandaman was established in 2010 and enrollment in 2013 was 89 children.[9] Since the school did not have permanent infrastructure, the food materials for midday meals were stored at the house of the headmistress, Meena Devi.[10]
Incident
On 16 July 2013, children aged between four and twelve years at the Dharmashati Gandaman primary school complained that their lunch, served as a part of the Midday Meal Scheme, tasted odd.[3] Children who questioned the food were rebuked by the headmistress.[5] Earlier, the cook had told the headmistress the school's new cooking oil was discoloured and smelled odd.[8] She replied that the oil was purchased at a local grocery store and safe to use.[8][7] The cook, who was hospitalized with food poisoning, later told the press it looked like there was "an accumulation of residual waste at the bottom [of the oil jar]".[7] The meal consisted of soya beans, rice, potato curry, that were cooked at the school.[7]
About 30 minutes later, the children began to have stomach pains and shortly thereafter began to have vomiting and diarrhoea. The number of ill children overwhelmed the school and local medical system. Some sick children were simply sent home, forcing their parents to seek help on their own.[3] According to the official count, 23 children died as a result of the contaminated food.[1] Parents and local villagers, however, said at least 27 had died.[2] Sixteen children died onsite, while four others were declared dead upon arrival at the local hospital. Others died at the hospital. Among the dead were two children of a female cook, Panna Devi; her third child survived.[10][11] A total of 48 students fell ill from the contaminated food. Three remained in critical condition as of 17 July.[7] Thirty-one children were moved from the local hospital to Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH) for further treatment.[5]
Cause
Initial indications are that the food was contaminated by organophosphorus compounds, a class of chemicals commonly found in insecticides.[5] A local government administrator commented "It appears to be a case of poisoning but we will have to wait for forensic reports. Had it been a case of natural food poisoning, so many children would not have died".[7] Late on 17 July, officials stated that they believed the cooking oil had been placed in a container formerly used to store insecticides.[3] According to state officials, the cooking oil used in the food had been purchased by the school's headmistress from a grocery store owned by her husband.[1]
Reaction
Nineteen of the children's bodies were buried on or near school grounds in protest. Across Bihar, numerous students refused to eat their meals in the days after the poisoning incident.[1]
On 17 July, hundreds of Mashrakh residents took to the streets in protest.[8] Demonstrators lit fires and burned effigies of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.[7] Four police vehicles were damaged by the fires.[8] Others threw stones at the police station and chanted slogans denouncing the government.[7] Some villagers demanded that the Midday Meal program be abolished.[2] Roads and rail lines were blocked by angry protestors carrying sticks and poles.[8] Desks and chairs from the school were taken and smashed, while the kitchen area was destroyed.[1][2] In nearby Chhapra, multiple arsons were reported, including reports that a crowd set fire to a bus.[8][2] No injuries were reported in either city.[3]
Shahi commented that many people involved in the program are looking for easy money and that "it is just not possible to taste meals in all the 73,000 schools before children eat the food."[3] He alleged that the poisoning was the work of political conspirators aiming to destabilize the government.[10] He also alleged that the contaminated oil had been purchased from a member of a rival political party.[2] Opposition party members accused the ruling Janata Dal party of acting too slowly.[7] Some politicians called for a general strike.[5]
The Bihar government promised a thorough investigation and offered INR200,000 (US$3,400) compensation for families of the dead children. Kumar called an emergency meeting and dispatched forensic experts to Mashrakh.[8] Headmistress Devi and her husband fled after the deaths became public knowledge and she was suspended by administrative authority.[7][8] A First Information Report has been filed against Devi and police are searching for her.[10]
Notes and references
Location of Bihar in India
Location Mashrakh, Bihar, India
Date July 16, 2013
Deaths 23–27
Injured (non-fatal) ~25
On 16 July 2013, at least 23 students died and dozens more fell ill after eating a contaminated free meal at a primary school, in Dharmashati Gandaman village, Mashrakh block, Saran district, Bihar, India.[1][2] Angered by the deaths and illnesses, villagers took to the streets in many parts of the district in violent protest.[3]
Contents
1 Background
2 Incident
3 Cause
4 Reaction
5 Notes and references
Background
Across India, the Midday Meal Scheme provides roughly 120 million children with free lunches, making it the world's largest school lunch program.[4] Inspite of corruption involved in implementing the scheme, it aims to fight widespread poverty, improve children's school attendance and health, as large number of India's children suffer from malnutrition.[5][6]
Bihar in northern India is among the nation's poorest states.[7] According to Mashrakh residents, students have suffered from food poisoning after eating school lunches on multiple occasions.[8] Bihar's education minister, P. K. Shahi, said complaints about food quality were not uncommon, but that there were no reported incidents of widespread food poisoning during his tenure.[5] The nonprofit Iskcon Food Relief Foundation says the meal programs in Bihar and neighbouring Uttar Pradesh are the worst in India. Public health is poor in general, with most water sources contaminated, and hospitals are underfunded.[3]
The primary school in the village of Dharmashati Gandaman was established in 2010 and enrollment in 2013 was 89 children.[9] Since the school did not have permanent infrastructure, the food materials for midday meals were stored at the house of the headmistress, Meena Devi.[10]
Incident
On 16 July 2013, children aged between four and twelve years at the Dharmashati Gandaman primary school complained that their lunch, served as a part of the Midday Meal Scheme, tasted odd.[3] Children who questioned the food were rebuked by the headmistress.[5] Earlier, the cook had told the headmistress the school's new cooking oil was discoloured and smelled odd.[8] She replied that the oil was purchased at a local grocery store and safe to use.[8][7] The cook, who was hospitalized with food poisoning, later told the press it looked like there was "an accumulation of residual waste at the bottom [of the oil jar]".[7] The meal consisted of soya beans, rice, potato curry, that were cooked at the school.[7]
About 30 minutes later, the children began to have stomach pains and shortly thereafter began to have vomiting and diarrhoea. The number of ill children overwhelmed the school and local medical system. Some sick children were simply sent home, forcing their parents to seek help on their own.[3] According to the official count, 23 children died as a result of the contaminated food.[1] Parents and local villagers, however, said at least 27 had died.[2] Sixteen children died onsite, while four others were declared dead upon arrival at the local hospital. Others died at the hospital. Among the dead were two children of a female cook, Panna Devi; her third child survived.[10][11] A total of 48 students fell ill from the contaminated food. Three remained in critical condition as of 17 July.[7] Thirty-one children were moved from the local hospital to Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH) for further treatment.[5]
Cause
Initial indications are that the food was contaminated by organophosphorus compounds, a class of chemicals commonly found in insecticides.[5] A local government administrator commented "It appears to be a case of poisoning but we will have to wait for forensic reports. Had it been a case of natural food poisoning, so many children would not have died".[7] Late on 17 July, officials stated that they believed the cooking oil had been placed in a container formerly used to store insecticides.[3] According to state officials, the cooking oil used in the food had been purchased by the school's headmistress from a grocery store owned by her husband.[1]
Reaction
Nineteen of the children's bodies were buried on or near school grounds in protest. Across Bihar, numerous students refused to eat their meals in the days after the poisoning incident.[1]
On 17 July, hundreds of Mashrakh residents took to the streets in protest.[8] Demonstrators lit fires and burned effigies of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.[7] Four police vehicles were damaged by the fires.[8] Others threw stones at the police station and chanted slogans denouncing the government.[7] Some villagers demanded that the Midday Meal program be abolished.[2] Roads and rail lines were blocked by angry protestors carrying sticks and poles.[8] Desks and chairs from the school were taken and smashed, while the kitchen area was destroyed.[1][2] In nearby Chhapra, multiple arsons were reported, including reports that a crowd set fire to a bus.[8][2] No injuries were reported in either city.[3]
Shahi commented that many people involved in the program are looking for easy money and that "it is just not possible to taste meals in all the 73,000 schools before children eat the food."[3] He alleged that the poisoning was the work of political conspirators aiming to destabilize the government.[10] He also alleged that the contaminated oil had been purchased from a member of a rival political party.[2] Opposition party members accused the ruling Janata Dal party of acting too slowly.[7] Some politicians called for a general strike.[5]
The Bihar government promised a thorough investigation and offered INR200,000 (US$3,400) compensation for families of the dead children. Kumar called an emergency meeting and dispatched forensic experts to Mashrakh.[8] Headmistress Devi and her husband fled after the deaths became public knowledge and she was suspended by administrative authority.[7][8] A First Information Report has been filed against Devi and police are searching for her.[10]
Notes and references
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