Emergency medical plan needed: Report
To avoid the repeat of the Bihar midday meal tragedy, the human resource development ministry has suggested preparation of an emergency medical plan.
The report, prepared by additional secretary (HRD ministry) Amarjit Singh, has also blamed the Saran district administration for failing to take corrective action despite being informed about its performance in handling the scheme. The delay in shifting the children to the nearest hospital and providing them proper treatment has also been pointed out in the report.
The report said that Saran, where the incident unfolded, was one of the 144 most poorly performing districts in the country and it was brought to the notice of the district administration and the state government.
“This should have been followed with corrective action,” the report said. The report has recommended setting up of an effective management structure at various levels to prevent such incidents and safe storage and supply of ingredients to school and an emergency medical plan.
Mr Singh was sent to Bihar to gather details regarding the tragedy.
The report noted that the incident was a case of “grave negligence” and said that the contamination of the food was “substantial so as to cause death”. According to the report, the principal secretary of Bihar has confirmed that the viscera tests shows the food had been contaminated with organo phosphates.
It said that when the cook brought to the notice of the head teacher, now under police custody, about “peculiar smell” in the oil, she chided her (the cook) by saying the oil was procured from her own house and there was nothing wrong with it. She further ordered the cook to go ahead with the cooking.
“Rather than testing the food for herself, the head teacher insisted that the children eat the food, which led to the unfortunate incident,” the report added.
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