Patna, July 18 (ANI): Asserting that appropriate action would be taken against the absconding headmistress, Bihar Principal Secretary Amardeep Sinha on Thursday said that the Chhapra mid-day meal tragedy is not a case of food poisoning, but a case of poison in food.
Sinha, who was talking to the media here in the backdrop of the mid-day meal case, said that as if now it doesn't seem to be a case of food poisoning due to rotten vegetable or pulses, but a case of poison in the food.
The Bihar Principal Secretary on his part discussed a number of issues that needs to be addressed by the state government to ensure that such incident does not occur again.
Sinha said that the visceral sample of children, cooked food sample and foodgrain stored in the house of the headmistress have already been sent to State Forensic Science Laboratory (SFSL) in Patna and is being investigated.
"We are expecting the final reports from the SFSL lab by tomorrow evening. Only after their report, we can determine the quantity and the kind of poison in the food," he added.
The Bihar Principal Secretary informed that the District Education Officer has been asked to investigative the absconding headmistress.
"There have been three clear violations by the headmistress in this case. Firstly, how did pesticide come in contact with cooking or vegetable oil? Secondly, as stated by the cook, there was a foul smell when she heated the oil but the headmistress allowed her to proceed. And thirdly, there are clear instructions that the headmistress is supposed to taste the food before serving it to the children," he said.
Sinha also suggested that the headmasters need to know first aid management in cases of emergency and there should be provisions to quickly reach the nearest hospital.
"A protocol should be made for the headmasters to follow in case of emergency and there needs to be an immediate action. If something like this happens, there should be prior intimation to the BHC and a bus facility to the nearest hospital," he added.
Sinha further said that 67,000 new cooks will be now employed.
25 children have died so far after eating a free mid-day meal at their school in Bihar's Chhapra district on July 16.
Several others are undergoing treatment at the Patna Medical College and Hospital. They were admitted to the hospital after consuming mid-day meals served to them at a government primary school in Dahrmasati village, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Mashrakh Block, about 25 kilometers from Chhapra.
The children are reportedly aged between 8 and 12 years. They fell ill soon after eating the meal, which consisted of rice, pulses and soybeans.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has ordered a high-level inquiry into the incident.
Nitish Kumar has also announced a compensation of two lakh rupees each to the families of the deceased. The Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry had earlier sent a senior official to Chhapra to take stock of the situation. (ANI)
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