Police: Toxic levels of pesticide in kids' lunch . . .

Photo AP Seorang budak lelaki di India melaungkan slogan, memegang pelekat semasa protes yang dianjurkan oleh pertubuhan bukan kerajaan Bachpan Bachao Andolan, atau Simpan Pergerakan Kanak-kanak, terhadap kematian di sekolah selepas makan makan tengah hari percuma dihidangkan di sekolah, di New Delhi, India, Sabtu, Julai 20, 2013. Polis mengatakan sampel minyak masak dan sisa makanan yang diambil dari sebuah sekolah India di mana 23 kanak-kanak mati selepas makan tengah hari ini minggu lalu telah tercemar dengan "Sangat Toksik" tahap satu racun perosak pertanian (An Indian boy shouts slogans, holding a placards during a protest organized by non-governmental organization Bachpan Bachao Andolan, or Save Childhood Movement, against the death of schoolchildren after eating free midday meal served at a school, in New Delhi, India, Saturday, July 20, 2013. Police say samples of cooking oil and leftover food taken from an Indian school where 23 children died after eating lunch this past week were contaminated with "very toxic" levels of an agricultural pesticide (think IN pictures @1WORLDCommunity)

Polis: tahap toksik racun perosak dalam makan 

tengah hari kanak-kanak'

Kahf MASSA - Patna, India (AP) Sampel minyak masak dan sisa makanan yang diambil dari sebuah sekolah India di mana 23 kanak-kanak meninggal dunia selepas makan tengah hari ini minggu lalu telah tercemar dengan "Sangat Toksik" tahap suatu racun makhluk perosak pertanian, kata polis hari ini.

Ravindra Kumar, Ketua Pengarah tambahan polis di bandar Patna, memberitahu pemberita bahawa ujian forensik mendedahkan bahawa sampel yang mengandungi monocrotophos racun perosak di tahap yang "Sangat Toksik" untuk manusia.

Yang makan tengah hari percuma telah disampaikan kepada kanak-kanak Selasa di kampung Gandamal Masrakh dalam blok, 80 kilometer (50 batu) utara Patna, ibu negeri Bihar. 23 kanak-kanak yang berumur antara 5 dan 12 mati dari makan makanan dan lain-lain lagi jatuh sakit.

Tiada tangkapan telah dibuat dalam kes itu. Pihak berkuasa menemui bekas racun serangga di kawasan memasak sekolah seterusnya kepada minyak sayur-sayuran dan minyak mustard, tetapi ia belum diketahui jika bekas yang merupakan sumber, pegawai-pegawai berkata.

Pelan makan tengah India adalah salah satu program terbesar di DUNIA pemakanan sekolah. Kerajaan-kerajaan Negeri boleh membuat keputusan mengenai menu dan pewaktuan makanan, bergantung kepada keadaan tempatan dan ketersediaan catuan makanan.

Ia dilihat sebagai satu insentif untuk ibu bapa yang miskin untuk menghantar anak-anak mereka ke sekolah dan kini meliputi kira-kira 120 juta kanak-kanak di seluruh negara. Ia juga sebahagian daripada usaha untuk menangani kebimbangan mengenai pemakanan, yang kerajaan mengatakan hampir separuh daripada semua kanak-kanak India mengalami.

Walaupun aduan mengenai kualiti makanan yang dihidangkan dan kekurangan kebersihan dalam program itu adalah rutin, insiden yang berlaku di Bihar kelihatan pernah berlaku sebelum ini untuk program makanan secara besar-besaran.

Photo AP Kanak-kanak lelaki di India menjerit slogan semasa protes yang dianjurkan oleh pertubuhan bukan kerajaan Bachpan Bachao Andolan, atau Simpan Pergerakan Kanak-kanak, terhadap kematian di sekolah selepas makan makan tengah hari percuma dihidangkan di sekolah, di New Delhi, India, Sabtu 20 Julai, 2013. Polis mengatakan sampel minyak masak dan sisa makanan yang diambil dari sebuah sekolah India di mana 23 kanak-kanak meninggal DUNIA selepas makan tengah hari ini minggu lalu telah tercemar dengan "Sangat Toksik" tahap satu racun perosak pertanian (Indian boys shout slogans during a protest organized by non-governmental organization Bachpan Bachao Andolan, or Save Childhood Movement, against the death of schoolchildren after eating free midday meal served at a school, in New Delhi, India, Saturday, July 20, 2013. Police say samples of cooking oil and leftover food taken from an Indian school where 23 children died after eating lunch this past week were contaminated with "very toxic" levels of an agricultural pesticide (think IN pictures @1WORLDCommunity)

Photo AP Anak-anak di India memegang pelekat sebagai mereka yang mengambil bahagian dalam protes yang dianjurkan oleh pertubuhan bukan kerajaan Bachpan Bachao Andolan, atau Simpan Pergerakan Kanak-kanak, terhadap kematian sekolah selepas makan makan tengah hari percuma dihidangkan di sekolah, di New Delhi, India, Sabtu 20 Julai , 2013. Polis berkata, sampel minyak masak dan sisa makanan yang diambil dari sebuah sekolah India di mana 23 kanak-kanak meninggal DUNIA selepas makan tengah hari ini minggu lalu telah dicemari dengan "Sangat Toksik" ​​tahap sesuatu racun perosak pertanian. Pelekat berbunyi "Hentikan berkhidmat racun dalam nama makanan tengah hari." (Indian children hold placards as they participate in a protest organized by non-governmental organization Bachpan Bachao Andolan, or Save Childhood Movement, against the death of schoolchildren after eating free midday meal served at a school, in New Delhi, India, Saturday, July 20, 2013. Police said samples of cooking oil and leftover food taken from an Indian school where 23 children died after eating lunch this past week were contaminated with "very toxic" levels of an agricultural pesticide. The placard reads "Stop serving poison in the name of mid-day meals." (think IN pictures @1WORLDCommunity)

Police: Toxic levels of pesticide in kids' lunch

Kahf MASSA - PATNA, India (AP) Samples of cooking oil and leftover food taken from an Indian school where 23 children died after eating lunch this past week were contaminated with "Very Toxic" levels of an agricultural pesticide, police said Saturday.

Ravindra Kumar, the additional director general of police in the city of Patna, told reporters that forensic tests revealed that the samples contained the pesticide monocrotophos in levels that were "Very Toxic" for humans.

The free midday meal was served to the children Tuesday in Gandamal village in Masrakh block, 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Patna, the Bihar state capital. Twenty-three children between the ages of 5 and 12 died from eating the meal and many others fell ill.

No arrests have been made in the case. Authorities discovered a container of insecticide in the school's cooking area next to the vegetable oil and mustard oil, but it wasn't yet known if that container was the source, officials have said.

India's midday meal plan is one of the world's biggest school nutrition programs. State governments can decide on menus and timings of the meals, depending on local conditions and availability of food rations.

It is seen as an incentive for poor parents to send their children to school and currently covers some 120 million children across the country. It's also part of an effort to address concerns about malnutrition, which the government says nearly half of all Indian children suffer from.

While complaints about the quality of the food served and the lack of hygiene in the program are routine, the incident in Bihar appeared to be unprecedented for the massive food program.