Lizard found in breakfast of students in Telangana

HYDERABAD: A lizard was allegedly found in the breakfast served to students of a girls' hostel attached to a government school in Medak district of Telangana on Tuesday, an official said.

As many as 17 students who had eaten the breakfast were taken to a primary health centre in Ramayampet mandal and two students among them who had stomach pain were shifted to another hospital. The remaining 15 students were discharged from the health centre, they said.

A cook and an assistant cook were terminated for alleged negligence after a "lizard was found" in the breakfast while the caretaker and the Special Officer of Model School Girls' Hostel were served show cause notices, Medak District Educational Officer (DEO) said.

The DEO dismissed the reports that appeared in a section of the media stating that the students had fallen ill due to food poisoning.

The DEO, who enquired into the issue, in a report submitted to higher officials including the District Collector said that when upma was served to the students, one of the students noticed a "lizard" in the breakfast.

Immediately, the caretaker instructed all the students to stop eating and the caretaker then took 17 students who had eaten the dish to the nearby Primary Health Centre in Ramayampet.

Later, 70 students were also taken to the health centre for checkup.

The doctor examined all the students and they were kept under observation for six hours to check for symptoms like vomiting, loose motions and high fever which would indicate food poisoning. However, no such symptoms were observed, the report said.

"Except two students who were suffering with stomach pain, all the remaining 15 students were discharged from the hospital. Both the students have been shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital in Medak," the DEO said in the report.

Meanwhile, a video purportedly showing a rat scurrying through a container of food cooked at the hostel canteen of a state-run Engineering College in Sangareddy district went viral on social media on Tuesday.

A Sangareddy District official told media that after some students posted the video, they visited the institute for inspection and were verifying the facts.