Worm-Infested Meals and Apathy: Crisis of Food Poisoning Befalls Students at Maganoor ZPHS
A spate of shocking food poisoning cases in Telangana Maganoor Zilla Parishad High School (ZPHS) has left grave concern about the safety of children and the efficacy of the mid-day meal scheme. For a whole week in November 2024, students were down with food poisoning due to consuming adulterated meals. Reports of worms in their meals had also surfaced. These incidents occurred on November 20, 21, and 26 and were aggravated by apathy and negligence on the part of the school administration that enraged the students and their parents.
The mid-day meal scheme was meant to give students a nutritious meal in the schools, particularly students belonging to economically backward sections. In Maganoor ZPHS, the story is the exact opposite. Students have complained of worms in the rice, curries not being cooked well, and contaminated drinking water, which has placed their health at serious risk. Pawan, a Class VIII student, described how he suffered from a stomach ache after eating contaminated food and had to seek medical help on his own. However, the teachers did not take any notice of this, and most students fear that nothing will change so they do not speak up.
Shockingly, even the district collector, Sikta Patnaik, was served worm-infested food on her visit to the school. Witnesses claim that the collector's reaction was one of disgust, prompting her to order fresh food. Yet, the situation persisted, with students reporting ongoing incidents of food contamination despite numerous complaints to the school authorities.
This negligence reached beyond the quality of food. Even the water-drinking facilities were unsafe, and it was found that even the purified water plant had been dysfunctional for years; the opened water tanks were a frequent source of contamination. The school only began buying bottled water after the food poisoning incidents.
This is yet another crisis in the midst of a school food safety system in India, where several cases of food poisoning have been reported across different schools in the country. Experts say better oversight, quicker responses to complaints, and accountability from school management will help prevent such incidents.
