A visit to the Zilla Parishad High School (ZPHS) at Maganoor, which has been in the news for three instances of food poisoning in a span of just one week — November 20, 21 and 26 — revealed shocking details of official indifference, apathy and total disregard for student health.
Students told The New Indian Express that their health was put at risk by their teachers who remained indifferent to their complaints of worm-infested food being served to them as part of the mid-day meals. They also said that though the district collector herself was served worm-infested food, the officials remained unshaken from their apathy and the situation did not improve.
Shockingly, this was not the first wave of food poisoning cases reported from the school, a local said that more than 80 students were affected on September 18 and 20, 2022. “Those incidents never made it to the press,” the local said.
The latest wave of food poisoning cases has left students scared, but they are unwilling to talk to their teachers, saying that it would hardly make a difference.
Aakash Dasari, a student of Class VIII, said that most of the students are from Backward Class (BC) and Scheduled Castes (SC) communities and they come to the school from across 10 villages. Some travel more than four km to attend classes without having their breakfast, Aakash said.
“After I had my lunch on Monday (November 25) at 1 pm, I started suffering from a stomach ache. I did not tell the teachers but prefered visiting the hospital on my own. Fortunately, I am better now,” Aakash said.
The stated objective of the mid-day meal scheme is to provide students, especially from economically backward sections, nutritious food thus helping improve the effectiveness of primary education.
Students speak
B Madhu, a Class IX student, stated: "After November 20, when I suffered stomach ache, headache and vomiting, I started bringing my lunch from home. On November 26, they (officials) served undercooked rice and curries. We (students) saw white colored worms in the cooked rice served to us.”
However, the school management claims that government officials, including the Mandal Revenue Officer (MRO), had lunch at the ZPHS on November 26, hinting that there was nothing wrong.
Another Class IX student insisted: "I don’t know about them but we have worm-infested food and half-cooked sambar, brinjal and potatoes. I got a raw brinjal on my plate. We had complained about the issue of worms in the food many times to our teachers."
The students told The New Indian Express that they have been facing issues with rice, curries and the drinking water served at the school as part of the mid-day meals.
P Vikas said that the school management uses two tanks for drinking water. Till Tuesday, November 26, the water tanks had no cover. "Sometimes, monkeys come and play in the water," Vikas said, adding that after the students were hospitalised, the school management covered the tanks with stone slabs. "Those water tanks did not have a lid till yesterday," added Vikas.
A teacher told The New Indian Express that the purified water plant in the school has been dysfunctional for the last three years. "It could have been repaired but no one cares about such things," the teacher added.
However, after the students were hospitalised for food poisoning, the school management started purchasing purified water bottles. A student said that this was the first time the school management did so.
Langati Jagadeesh stated that his son, Langati Shiva, a Class XI student, was affected twice, on November 20 and 26. "When I told my son to bring lunch from home, he refused saying that he is scared of the teachers," Jagadeesh said.
Some students alleged that they saw inch-long worms in the food served to them for lunch. "Even on November 20, we saw worms in the cooked rice," said a student from that school.
It was on this day that 45 students complained of vomiting and stomachache and other health issues. As their health deteriorated, the school management rushed them to a nearby government hospital.
While most students stabilised after treatment, two had to be rushed to the government hospital at Mahbubnagar as their condition worsened.
Shockingly, when the students who had been rushed to hospital attended school, they saw worms in cooked food again.
Students said that even Narayanpet district collector Sikta Patnaik was served worm-infested food for lunch on November 21. "We saw that she (collector) got worms in her plate when she came to our school on November 21 to have lunch with us. We saw with our own eyes the collector’s reaction upon seeing the worms on her plate, the students said.
"After she saw the worms, she ordered fresh food to be prepared. On that day, we had our lunch at 4 pm, just before leaving the school,” the students revealed.
When asked about the food poisoning cases, Sikta Patnaik said: "I have said what I had to.”
Officials have tried to blame outside food, especially Kurkure, for the food poisoning. Students admitted to The New Indian Express that some of them do go out and eat snacks, but not all.
At the same time, shopkeepers in the area pointed out that there are three other educational institutions in the area. "There is a government primary school, Margadarsi school and a government high school school in the vicinity. But how can only students from this school (Maganooor ZPHS school) be affected?" questioned kirana shop owner Varadarajan.
A teacher, requesting anonymity, said that the gates of the schools are closed at 9.30 am every day. "After the lunch period, many students go out by jumping the compound wall and buy some snacks. Most of the students go out during the first break after lunch," the teacher added.
A villager from Maganoor, named Bingi Bhaskar said that this was not the first wave of food poisoning in the school. "On September 18 and 20, 2022, more than 80 students were affected due to the food poisoning. But that never came to light," stated.
An official from the Narayanpet district collectorate told The New Indian Express that after the food poisoning incident came up, the officials inspected several residential schools and found worm-infested rice there. “We ordered the managements to discard those rice bags and replace them with new stock,” the official said.
