KOLKATA: A dead
lizard was found in the mid-day meal distributed among students at a higher secondary school in
Bowbazar area. A class IV student, who had taken the meal home, found the reptile when she started eating.
Saima Perveen, the student, went to school on Tuesday morning and was given the mid-day meal half an hour before the recess. While her sister, a student of class II of the same school ate the food, she kept it inside her school bag and went back home.
“They served rice, daal and potato sabzi on Tuesday. Saima did not eat and kept the food inside her tiffin box. She took out the tiffin box when she reached home. Her sister Sabia also joined her,” said Md Musharraf, her father.
According to Musharraf, his wife suddenly noticed the lizard while the kids were eating. “She was shocked to find that and snatched the tiffin box from them. We immediately took them to a doctor who referred the kids to a hospital fearing any possible poisoning. When we contacted the school authority they summoned the organisation that supplies mid-day meal to the kids,” he said.
While condition of the kids remained stable, the school authority was anxious about other kids who have eaten the same food. “The school authority has been cooperative and took immediate steps. But it seems that the organisation which had supplied the food was careless,” said Musharraf.
The dead lizard was noticed by the student's mother. 
