Bengaluru: Lizard in midday meal, 87 students taken ill

BALLARI: Nearly 90 students of a government high school in Ballari district took ill after a boy found a dead lizard in the food served under the midday meal programme on Wednesday.
The incident was reported from Government High School in Gaddigeri village of Hagaribommanahalli taluk in the district.

Sources said the students were served pulav, which was cooked on the school campus, for lunch. One boy sprang out of his chair after spotting a dead lizard, setting off panic and commotion. As many as 87 students threw up.

Boys were in shock

The condition of three students — Lokesh, Kotresh and Parashuram — warranted admission to the Hagaribommanahalli Government Hospital. The three boys are out of danger. A doctor who treated the boys said they were in shock, and had a fever.

Other students brought into the hospital were treated as outpatients. “All students have recovered, and there’s no cause of concern,” the doctor said.

A teacher who witnessed the incident said they summoned an ambulance immediately and shifted the students to the nearest hospital, besides informing their parents about the incident.

Parents and villagers staged a protest in front of the school, protesting negligence of cooks and teachers. Police and education department officers visited students at the hospital.