A shocking incident in India has sparked public outrage after more than 100 students reportedly fell ill from eating a school lunch contaminated by a dead snake, reports BBC News.
The meal was served last week at a government-run school in Mokama, a town in Bihar, one of the country’s poorest states.
Source: Bruna Branco on Unsplash. For illustrative purposes only.
According to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the school cook allegedly discovered a dead snake in the food, removed it, and still served the meal to about 500 pupils.
Shortly after the meal was served, more than 100 children started showing signs of illness, prompting panicked villagers to block a nearby road in protest, demanding accountability.
The NHRC has since stepped in, calling for a thorough investigation. The commission has given authorities and police two weeks to submit a report detailing the incident and updates on the students’ condition.
Source: Pixabay. For illustrative purposes only.
The commission stressed that if the incident was indeed true, it would be a grave violation of the students’ rights.
India’s Mid-Day Meal Scheme — the world’s largest school lunch programme — has roots dating back to 1925 in Chennai. It currently feeds over 113 million children aged 6 to 10 across public schools for at least 200 days a year.
The programme aims to tackle hunger, improve children’s nutrition, and boost school attendance, especially for students from low-income backgrounds.
However, despite the good intentions, the programme has faced repeated food safety scandals. In one of the most devastating cases in 2013, 23 children in Bihar died after eating school food contaminated with pesticides, according to NBC News.
The tragedy led to calls for stricter food safety measures in school kitchens across the country.
While India has made significant strides in food production and economic growth, it is still home to over 190 million undernourished people, according to the United Nations, underscoring the urgent need for safer and more reliable school meal systems.
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Featured image adapted from Bruna Branco on Unsplash and Pixabay. For illustrative purposes only.