Exactly one year back, on July 16, 2013, 23 children died after consuming mid-day meal at a government primary school in Masarkh under Bihar’s Saran district. The school was shut down and the remaining students shifted to another primary school.
However, the children, mostly from the downtrodden section, studying there no longer consume mid-day meal. They carry potable water in bottles and readymade breakfast from home, cooked by their family members.
One year after the tragedy, neither the children nor their guardians are ready to rely on the mid-day meal.
One such guardian is Raju Shah, who lost his only son Shiva. His daughter Laxmi is enrolled in the primary school but she too carries home-cooked food. “Tell me how can we rely that the mid-day meal cooked for the students won’t be adulterated. The state government, through its officials, tried to convince us that such incidents won’t be repeated any more.
But only someone like me who has lost a son can understand the pain,” Raju said, adding that after last year’s incident, many unaffected children do not touch mid-day meal. Meanwhile, reports pouring in from far-flung Motihari say that the principal of a primary school Jitendra Kumar Singh thrashed the children when they refused to eat mid-day meal.
Four children were seriously injured as the principal used his slippers to beat the tiny tots. The children were protesting about the poor quality of food.
The parents, after learning about the incident, surrounded the school and took the principal in captivity. Later, the police and the Block Education Officer (BEO) turned up and assured parents that action will be taken against the guilty.