Dead rats found in midday meal rice, panic in Yadgir school

Yadgir: Panic gripped Gundlur village in Wadagera taluk of Yadgir district on Thursday after dead rats, worms and debris were found in rice meant for the midday meals. The discovery prompted school authorities to dispose of the old stock and arrange for fresh rice.The village has a lower primary school where 62 students from economically weaker sections are enrolled. The school has only two rooms—one serves as both a classroom for students from Classes 1 to 5 and a staff room, while the other is used as a kitchen for preparing midday meals.Sayed Patel, Sharanappa, Sayed Basha and other villagers told TOI that one of them, during a visit to the school, noticed students cleaning rice and found dead rats, worms and dust particles in it.

“He immediately alerted us, and we rushed to the school. During our inspection, we also found dead rats and worms in the rice stock meant for the midday meal. The rice appeared to be very old, and the cooking staff were making students clean it before preparing the meal,” they said.“We were shocked to find dead rats in the rice and are worried about the health of our children who consume this food. The rice stored in the kitchen is unfit for consumption, yet the school authorities were using it for cooking.

The school also lacks basic facilities, including clean drinking water,” they alleged.The villagers demanded strict action against the school authorities for endangering the lives of children. They also claimed that the headmaster did not respond to their attempts to contact him.Ningareddi, headmaster in charge of the school, said: “I am on leave due to personal reasons. Earlier, I had instructed the cooking staff not to use old stock kept in the kitchen and advised them to use fresh rice.

During maintenance work, the contractors failed to install mesh on the windows, which allowed rats to enter the kitchen.”He further alleged that some people were trying to malign his image by opening bags containing old stock. “We have not used the old stock but fresh rice. I am ready to face any inquiry and will also demand a proper probe into the incident,” he said.(With inputs from Mounesh)