Authorities in India have launched investigations into reports that a dead snake in a public school lunch caused dozens of children to fall ill.
India’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said vi a statement on Thursday, above 100 students became sick in the northeastern town of Mokama last week.
Citing reports from local media, a school cook reportedly served the food to around 500 children after removing a dead snake from it, the commission said.
The NHRC has requested that local police provide a “detailed” report of the incident within two (2) weeks, which is expected to include the status of health of the affected children, the statement added.
The Commission said, if the reports are true, the case would be a serious “violation of the human rights of the students”, adding, villagers, angered by the reports, had blocked a road in protest.
In its quest to fight hunger, India launched a cooked Mid Day Meal Scheme in 2001 that provided a free lunch for children in public schools for at least 200 days a year, according to the country’s Ministry of Education.
The school food program is the largest in the world, covering more than 13 million children ages six (6) to ten (10).
