Poison in school dinner 22 students die

Insect venom apparently causes numerous deaths in the East Indies

07/18/2013

At least 22 students have died after eating canteens in the state of Bihar, northern India - as the Indian government has already confirmed, insect venom in the ingredients of food appears to be the cause of death.

Many children in mortal danger
For at least 22 children in a school in the East Indian village of Masrakh, after eating lunch with rice, soybeans, lentils and potatoes, all help came too late - due to pollution with insect venom, nine students died on Tuesday of this week, then at night on Wednesday another twelve children, all of whom were between eight and twelve years old. In addition, the disaster could claim even more victims, because, according to the newspaper „The Times of India“ would still be „more than two dozen sick children“ in the „Patna Medical College and Hospital“ and are partly in mortal danger. Everything is done to help the children: „The students are cared for in Patna by paediatricians around the clock, "said a police spokesman from about 60 kilometers from the capital of Bihar „Mirror online“.

apparently „Traces of insect venom“ in school lunches
As the Ministry of Education confirmed, are in the ingredients of the lunch, which is spent free of charge to the students, „Traces of insect venom“ For example, Raja Yadav, the father of one of the sick students, describes how his son reported bouts after leaving school and vomited.

Free school lunches should bring more children to the schools
Free, government-subsidized lunch in public school canteens is not uncommon in India - in 29 states, children can eat for free, which means the government wants more children to attend school. The background is that many families can not afford paid lunches for their children, with 455 million people in India living below the poverty line, with Bihar being one of the worst affected states. Accordingly, the idea of ​​the government seems at first glance very useful - but unfortunately it comes again and again to food poisoning and just in Bihar according to the speaker of the Congress Party, Jagdambika Pal, „Time and again spoiled and inferior foods have been used.“

Tragic incident triggers citizen protests
In response to the incidents, hundreds of people gathered in the streets of Bihar across the country and protested because of the tragedy at the village school, for which, according to the „The Times of India“ the authorities would be held responsible. According to the newspaper, Bihar's Prime Minister Nitish Kumar „shaken in the face of the incidents shown“ and a compensation of about 2,500 euros for each affected family announced - which, however, in the opinion of the right-wing conservatives „Bharatiya Janata party“ (BJP) one „insensitive“ Reaction be like that „The Times of India“ reported. According to him, "instead of promptly arranging for the affected children to move to a better medical facility, the prime minister of Bihar has announced a payment for the deceased children of 2,500 euros, demonstrating an insensitive and unfeeling attitude“, said BJP spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy in Delhi. (No)