Patna: The Bihar government on Friday pointed out lapses on part of the school in Chhapra where 23 kids died after eating the mid day meal on Tuesday. Bihar Education Principal Secretary Amarjeet Sinha said that the investigations are on and the forensic report is expected by Friday evening.
"Three specific violations are - How come vegetable oil and pesticides were kept in the same premises, the cook had informed the school principal about the oil but she ignored the warning and according to rules the headmaster, principal or cook has to taste the food before being served to children," Sinha said.
"An investigation is on and the FSL report is likely to come by tomorrow. It does not look like food poisoning, it seems like poisoning of food," he added.
Pointing out the lack of facilities in schools, Sinha said, "There are no first-aid kits in schools or there is lack of awareness about first-aid medication in schools. One major problem is many schools don't have their own land. This school also did not have its own building. There are 13,500 schools where we don't have land to construct a kitchen shed."
He said that the state government has asked the Centre to allocate more funds for hiring cooks and construction of kitchen sheds in Bihar. The state government will also ensure that the schools which lack in mid day meal infrastructure collaborate with nearby schools where the scheme is already in force.
Meanwhile, it also appears that the Union HRD Ministry had warned Bihar about the sub-standard food in schools. The warning was issued in April. The HRD report also stated that food was being cooked and served in unhygienic conditions. The Ministry also said that Bihar didn't conduct regular health check-ups to evaluate their nutrition scale.
The HRD Ministry has set up a new committee to look into the quality of mid day meals. "The focus is that this does not happen again. Time has come to strengthen the programme and form another committee to look into the quality of food and hygiene," said HRD Minister Pallam Raju.
The mid day meal horror, which has killed 23 children in Bihar has caused an uproar in the state. Chhapra erupted in violent protests on Wednesday as people armed with sticks and rods set vehicles on fire and damaged public property including the kitchen where the meals were served. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar ordered a high level inquiry into the incident and announced compensation of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of the deceased. The headmistress of the school is absconding.
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