On Monday, an alleged incident in Sangli district, Western Maharashtra, involved the discovery of a dead snake in a packet of mid-day meal intended for children at an Anganwadi school, following several previous instances of rats and cockroaches found in food.
Anandi Bhosale, Vice-President of the State Anganwadi Workers’ Union, reported the incident on Monday, stating that parents of a child in Palus brought it to light.
‘Meal packets containing a premix of dal khichadi for children aged six months to three years. According to Bhosale, parents of one child alleged finding a tiny dead snake in the packet they received on Monday,’ she stated.
She said that Sandip Yadav, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Sangli Zilla Parishad, along with other officials from the food safety committee, visited the Anganwadi and took away the packet for lab tests.
Congress leader and Palus-Kadegaon MLA Vishwajeet Kadam termed the incident ‘serious’ and raised it in the state legislative assembly during the ongoing monsoon session. He called for a thorough investigation into the incident and urged action against those accountable.
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District officials stated that the child’s parents disposed of the dead snake after photographing it and sent the image to the local Anganwadi worker. However, they mentioned that despite this, they have collected the food sample from the packet and sent it to a laboratory for testing.
During a meeting on July 2, Bhosale raised the issue and informed Sandip Yadav, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Sangli Zilla Parishad, who oversees the Women and Child Welfare and Anganwadi section. She mentioned that authorities reportedly sealed the godown where the meal packets are stored following the incident.
When contacted, Yadav told PTI that during the investigation, officials discovered complaints about the contractor responsible for supplying the premixed meal packets. Bhosale also mentioned that the parents had discarded the alleged dead object found in the packet.
Yadav confirmed that the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has collected samples of the food items from the packet for laboratory testing. He added that the investigation will proceed based on the photo taken by the parents and the food samples.
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