Dead rat found in meal at model school

AHMEDABAD: A dead rat was found on Wednesday in the mid-day meal served at a government-run primary school in Jamla village of Kalol taluka in Gandhinagar district. The tail of the rat was found in the dish of a teacher who had taken the food to taste it for safety.

Mansa MLA Amit Chavda, who rushed to the spot, said according to rules, the food has to be checked first by a teacher.

When the teacher took some food in his dish, he found the tail of a rat in it. "Immediately the entire food cooked was checked and a dead rat was found," Chavda said.

The MLA further said that the food was supplied by Akshay Patra. "One much check the quality of the food supplied. In the past also, there were cases of food poisoning in kotwas. However, the forensic report had then stated that the food poisoning had occurred because of contaminated drinking water," Chavda said.

He claimed that Jamla Adarsh Primary School, where the dead rat was found, was declared a model school by the state government. "There are 242 students in the school," the MLA said.

Rajendra Trivedi, commissioner of mid-day meal scheme, admitted that a dead rat had been found in the food.

"In Jamla village, the teacher spotted the rat in the food before it was served to students," he said.

"The department has asked senior officials to look into the incident and find out if there were complaints from any other school. Akshay Patra was supplying food in the schools of Mansa, Kalol and Gandhinagar taluka and, so far, we have not received any complaint," Trivedi said.

Officials said that as it had received several complaints about the quality of food, it was decided that the food will first be tested by the teacher and only then will it be served to students.