In Bihar, a plate of woe

Instances ofcontaminated nutrient served to children nether the government-mandated midday repast successful Bihar nary longer marque the media’s big-font news. Their regularity numbs the scholar into indifference.

On May 7, up to 150 students of a authorities mediate school successful Bihar’s Baluaha village, successful Saharsa district, fell sick and were hospitalised. The children had allegedly spotted a dormant babe snake successful their watery dal. They were treated astatine a authorities infirmary and the section Primary Health Centre.

The territory head suspended and lodged an FIR against 2 teachers and each the 9 cooks of the school. Bharat Kumar Singh, who functions arsenic some the Block Education Officer (BEO) and Block Development Officer (BDO) of Mahishi, says it is the wide work of the unit to marque checks. “We person started our Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) for students to devour the repast and concern is gradually improving.”

“I, on with the cooks of the schoolhouse and different teachers sensation the nutrient archetypal to physique assurance among students, but they person been refusing, saying their parents person told them not to,” rues Anupama Kumari Jha, the headmistress.

But parents are nervous. “They person told america not to devour the food, truthful we transportation nutrient from home,” says 1 student, with galore echoing her.

Also read: Blame crippled connected implicit midday repast tragedy

What was earlier the six-days-a-week midday repast strategy successful schools was rechristened the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman strategy successful 2021. Bihar’s Finance Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav said successful his fund code for 2026-27, that 68,813 schools successful the State and 1.04 crore students from Class 1-8 are covered nether the scheme. Children are fixed blistery cooked meals, either cooked connected field oregon brought successful by an non-governmental organisation (NGO).

Over the years, determination person been astatine slightest 5 incidents of nutrient contamination successful the children’s nutrient successful Bihar. In February 2025 astir 100 children successful Lakhisarai territory had symptoms of nutrient poisoning aft they complained of a lizard successful the food. In April 2025 implicit 100 children successful Patna territory fell sick and a snake was allegedly recovered successful the food. In September that year, astir 85 children fell sick, again aft a lizard was recovered successful the cooked vegetable.

Fixing responsibility

For Baluaha village, the basal room is located a kilometre away, and is tally by an NGO, which says it takes each “hygiene precautions” successful preparing nutrient for the schoolhouse students. “In 2 blocks of territory adjacent Mahishi and Nauhatta, our Delhi headquartered NGO supplies nutrient to astir 18,000 students each time successful implicit 150 authorities schools,” says the task coordinator Mohd. Ejaz, from Bharat Ratna Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar Dalit Utthan Evam Siksha Samiti. He besides says 67 unit members, including 16 cooks, enactment astatine the organisation to proviso nutrient to students successful a 10 km radius. The repast is typically served astatine 9 a.m. during the greeting displacement of the schoolhouse successful summer.

 “Why was the FIR filed against me? It was the NGO that was supplying food,” says Jha. The schoolhouse principal, Vikas Kumar, was connected casual permission that day, she says, making her in-charge.

The authorities authorities mediate schoolhouse successful Baluaha, immoderate 170 kms northbound from of Patna, was established successful 1949, and has 828 students connected rotation with much miss students than boys. There are 16 teachers and 9 cooks. “That time (May 7) 543 students had travel to the school. A schoolhouse cook, Kaili Devi, asked students not to devour the food, erstwhile she saw thing successful the dal,” says Jha.

By then, immoderate of the children had started vomiting and complaining of tummy pain. “We called the section Primary Health Centre (PHC) and the police,” she says.

Kaili says, “One of the middle-school students started crying out, ‘chilla-chilla’ (earthworm). I excessively spotted it and asked the children not to devour the food.”

Saharsa District Programme Officer (MDM), Shalini Jagriti, says the forensics squad is determining whether it was snake, earthworm, oregon thing else. “They person taken a illustration of the nutrient and the ‘creature’for testing,” she says.

Jha is grateful the children were each discharged from the healthcare units. Even the parents of children who were not successful schoolhouse connected that time gathered wrong the schoolhouse field and shouted slogans against the administration. “We were panicked,” says Jha.

One genitor says, philosophically, “Life is the lone happening which tin ne'er beryllium replaced erstwhile lost.” Another says, angrily that the mediocre were condemned to devour immoderate was handed out. “Poverty is an injustice,” helium adds.

Shortcomings successful the strategy transportation  

The Poshan strategy is shared successful outgo by the Central and State governments successful a 60:40 ratio. As of May 2026, it is moving successful each 38 districts of Bihar.

Last twelvemonth successful May, aft the April incident, erstwhile implicit 100 children had fallen sick aft eating contaminated schoolhouse food, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had issued announcement to the Bihar authorities seeking a elaborate study successful the matter.

In July 2013, successful Dharmasati Gandaman Primary schoolhouse successful Masrakh artifact of Saran district, 23 students had died aft eating contaminated midday meal. The incidental had deed nationalist and planetary headlines, and the schoolhouse main Meena Devi, was aboriginal sentenced to 17 years successful jail, 10 years of which are connected charges of culpable homicide not amounting to execution and 7 years for transgression negligence, though some sentences were to tally consecutively, and not concurrently.

In 2023, Jan Jagriti Shakti Sangathan, a commercialized national of unorganised assemblage workers, released a study titled ‘Where are the Kids? The Curious Case of Government Schools successful Bihar’. It was based connected a survey of 81 schools successful 2 districts successful North Bihar, and offers glimpses into the authorities of acquisition successful the agrarian parts of the State. “While it is not wide wherefore NGOs are progressive successful the archetypal place, the deficiency of a azygous strategy for cooking midday meals causes confusion. There person been galore reports from Bihar wherever children person fallen sick aft eating the midday meal…,” it says.

amarnath.tewary@thehindu.co.in