Six years on, midday meal tragedy continues to haunt survivors

GANDAMAN (MASHRAKH): Six years after a midmeal tragedy claimed the lives of 23 children at the primary school in Dharmashati Gandaman village under Maharjganj constituency on July 16, 2013, the incident continues to haunt the survivors, who are in their teens now.
“After eating the mid-day meal that day, I and many other kids in the school started vomiting. We were first taken to Masharakh public health centre and from there to a hospital in Chhapra. But our condition was not improving so we were referred to the Patna Medical College and Hospital,” recalls 16-year-old Rajni Kumari.
Her friend Anjali, who is now in Class X in a government high school in Mashrakh, says though she recovered in a few weeks after the incident, she still suffers from stomach ache and nausea frequently.
Some of the other survivors also claimed that they still get frequent bouts of stomach ache, headache and experience blurred vision. “My first daughter Rajni, who somehow survived the mid-day meal tragedy in the primary school here, still complains of stomachache and blurred vision,” says Renu Devi, a resident of the village.
She refuses to allow her two other kids, who study in the same school, to eat the mid-day meal. “I am forced to send my other two kids, Khushboo (7) and Deepu Kumar (8), to the same primary school, but I ask them not to eat the mid-day meal served at the school. I tell them to come home for lunch as I don’t want to risk my children’s lives again,” she adds.
Several others claimed that they have not received compensation for their kids, who survived the incident. For instance, Hemanti Devi claimed that though she received ex-gratia of Rs 2.90lakh for the death of her 10-year-old son Kundan Kumar she did not get government compensation of Rs 1 lakh for her 10-year-old daughter, who survived the incident.
While many parents don’t allow their kids to have the meals, others complained that the school has not been serving the meals for the past two months.
“Although many of us don’t ask our children to eat the mid-day meal served at the school, the meal is not being served in the school for almost three months now. School staffers say the meal is not being served due to non-supply of food items,” said Malti Devi, whose 9-year-old son Abhay studies in the school.
Mala Devi, whose two sons Sandeep Kumar (9) and Sonu Kumar (6) study in the same school ,agreed. “The mid-day meal is not being served in the school. But the kids are scared to eat the mid-day meal talking about poison in the food,” Mala said.
On being asked about the lack of mid-day meals at the school, headmaster Rajesh Kumar claimed that it was only happening only from May 1 owing to the general elections.
His version was backed by Sunil Kumar Singh, district programme officer, education department. He said rice was not being supplied to several government schools in the area for the past days 10 as the food-supply vehicle was been taken for election purposes. “Rice is not being supplied from past 10 days owing to elections but the claim of non-preparation of mid- day meal from last three months is not true,” Singh said.
Maharajganj will go to the polls in the sixth phase on May 12.