Kurkure caused food poisoning at Narayanpet govt school: Govt to HC

Hyderabad: On Wednesday, the Telangana High Court was told that the government students in Narayanpet fell ill not because of food poisoning from the mid-day meal, but by consuming Kurkure packets which they purchased outside the school.

The High Court Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J Sreenivas Rao, took serious note of the ‘pathetic and precarious circumstances’ of students studying in the Magnoor Zilla Parishad High School in Narayanpet District.

Recently, many students there fell ill after allegedly consuming stale food and were admitted to Makhtal hospital for food poisoning.

The addl. AG informed the court that the State Government has suspended the headmaster of the school along with other officials and also suspended the contract of the food supplier and sought a week to file a detailed report on the entire incident.

Government schools should provide good food to students

CJ Alok Aradhe expressed serious concern over the incident and said that the school education department officials should respond to such issues quickly. Students in government schools should also be taken care of properly with good food, the court said.

“This reported incident is grave and strict urgent action is needed against officials concerned responsible for such an incident. The State should inform the steps to be taken to thwart such incidents in future,” the chief justice said.

'Worms seen in the mid-day meals'

The Division Bench was adjudicating a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Keethineedi Akhil Sri Guru Teja here who sought a direction to the Central and State governments to implement midday meals ‘PM Poshan’ as per the menu in all government schools till Class 8 and implement the Integrated Child Development Service Scheme (ICDS) in all projects.

Chikkudu Prabhakar, counsel for the petitioner informed the Court that on November 20, 50 students studying in Maganoor Zilla Parishad High School in Narayanpet District fell sick reportedly after eating boiled eggs and other food. The counsel said that worms were seen in the mid-day meals served to the students.

On November 26, 28 students again fell sick in the same school after consuming stale food, he said.

‘No action against the officials involved’

The counsel informed the court that the school education department officials didn’t take adequate steps to ensure such incidents do not occur again and also that no action was taken against the erring officials.

Taking serious note of the counsel for the petitioner, CJ Alok Aradhe summoned Imran Khan, the addl. advocate general, for more information.

Further, the chief justice, turning towards the government counsel, expressed serious annoyance at the careless attitude of the school education department officials, who were responsible for providing stale and decayed food to the children, because of which they were hospitalised.

Moreover, the Chief Justice said, going by the said incident it is evident that the State government is not serious about implementing the midday meal programme in the government schools properly and the children are being deprived of nutritious food. He said this is in violation of the National Food Security Act, 2013, the PM Poshan scheme and the Integrated Child Development Service Scheme as per Mid Day Meal Rules, 2015.

Imran Khan refuted the contentions of the petitioner and informed that the students fell ill not because of the food poisoning in the midday meal programme, but rather from eating Kurkure packets they got from outside the school.

The case has been adjourned to December 2.