Kolkata, June 12: Fifty-five children were treated for shock and nausea in a children’s care centre in Birbhum district of West Bengal on Friday after they found a dead snake in their mid-day meal.
The food was prepared at the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) centre in Kabirajpara near Rampurhat. Hospital superintendent Himadri Halder said no symptoms of food poisoning had been found so far.
Rampurhat SDO A Sengupta said the snake fell accidentally into the vessel when the meal was being prepared in a shed at the centre. “It was discovered only when it was served on a plate along with a portion of rice and gruel. The children were horrified,” said Sengupta, who has called for a report.
Dr Halder said the snake venom was not in “fatal proportion”. Children fell ill because of fear psychosis.
Suniti Majhi, ICDS supervisor of the village, blamed the cook, Maya Konai. “She never told us that the shed where the mid-day meal is cooked was in a bad condition. Somehow, the snake must have slipped in and fallen in the vessel. We will seek explanation from the cook.”
Maya said she had made repeated complaints to ICDS officials to improve the condition of the shed where mid-day meals were cooked. “The shed is in a bad shape. It lacks maintenance. There are many snakes, insects and worms there as it is not cleaned properly. I found nothing at the time of cooking. I had cooked and left the centre and was not present at the time the food was served,” she said.
—Agencies-