Instances ofcontaminated food served to children under the government-mandated midday meal in Bihar no longer make the media’s big-font news. Their regularity numbs the reader into indifference.On May 7, up to 150 students of a government middle school in Bihar’s Baluaha village, in Saharsa district, fell sick and were hospitalised. The children had allegedly spotted a dead baby snake in their watery dal. They were treated at a government hospital and the local Primary Health Centre.The district administrator suspended and lodged an FIR against two teachers and all the nine cooks of the school. Bharat Kumar Singh, who functions as both the Block Education Officer (BEO) and Block Development Officer (BDO) of Mahishi, says it is the overall responsibility of the staff to make checks. “We have started our Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) for students to eat the meal and situation is gradually improving.”
Inside of the school kitchen in Baluaha government school.
| Photo Credit:
Amarnath Tewary
“I, along with the cooks of the school and other teachers taste the food first to build confidence among students, but they have been refusing, saying their parents have told them not to,” rues Anupama Kumari Jha, the headmistress.But parents are nervous. “They have told us not to eat the food, so we carry food from home,” says one student, with many echoing her.Also read: Blame game on over midday meal tragedyWhat was earlier the six-days-a-week midday meal scheme in schools was rechristened the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman scheme in 2021. Bihar’s Finance Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav said in his budget speech for 2026-27, that 68,813 schools in the State and 1.04 crore students from Class 1-8 are covered under the scheme. Children are given hot cooked meals, either cooked on campus or brought in by an non-governmental organisation (NGO).Over the years, there have been at least five incidents of food contamination in the children’s food in Bihar. In February 2025 about 100 children in Lakhisarai district had symptoms of food poisoning after they complained of a lizard in the food. In April 2025 over 100 children in Patna district fell ill and a snake was allegedly found in the food. In September that year, about 85 children fell sick, again after a lizard was found in the cooked vegetable.Fixing responsibilityFor Baluaha village, the base kitchen is located a kilometre away, and is run by an NGO, which says it takes all “hygiene precautions” in preparing food for the school students. “In two blocks of district nearby Mahishi and Nauhatta, our Delhi headquartered NGO supplies food to about 18,000 students every day in over 150 government schools,” says the project coordinator Mohd. Ejaz, from Bharat Ratna Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar Dalit Utthan Evam Siksha Samiti. He also says 67 staff members, including 16 cooks, work at the organisation to supply food to students in a 10 km radius. The meal is typically served at 9 a.m. during the morning shift of the school in summer. “Why was the FIR filed against me? It was the NGO that was supplying food,” says Jha. The school principal, Vikas Kumar, was on casual leave that day, she says, making her in-charge.
