New Delhi [India]: The Union government has taken serious note of media reports about a lizard found in the breakfast served to students of the Telangana Model School at Ramayampet in Medak.
“Concerning recent media reports about a lizard found in the Upma at Telangana Model School, the Department of School Education and Literacy, Government of India has taken serious note of the situation,” said the Union Education Ministry in a statement.
“State Government of Telangana has informed that this incident happened in the Hostel of Model School of Telangana Government. The State Government under its own scheme provides breakfast to Model Schools and is not covered under the PM POSHAN Scheme. The State Government has also informed that they have taken serious action against the concerned officials,” the statement added.
The statement reiterated that the PM POSHAN Scheme provides hot cooked midday meal in schools and all the states and Union Territories have been advised to take appropriate steps to ensure safety norms and provide properly cooked food for the students.
Earlier this week, after eating the Upma, three students of the Telangana Model School fell ill. The food was consumed by at least thirty to forty of them.
According to officials, a lizard had fallen into the Upma prepared for the morning breakfast. “School authorities noticed it after serving it to 30-40 students. Once they noticed it, they stopped serving it to anyone else,” said the police.
“Three students were admitted to a nearby hospital after they started vomiting from eating the food,” the police added.
Earlier this month, at least 100 students preparing for Indian Army jobs and staying in the hostels of a coaching academy suffered from food poisoning in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore district, with 30 aspirants among them admitted to the hospital.
All the students were from the same coaching academy and were staying in its five different hostels in the city.
Additionally, in another case of suspected food poisoning at Indore’s Shri Yugpurush Dham Baudhik Vikas Kendra, five children died.