A month after Bihar mid-day meal tragedy, village still under trauma, grief

Chhapra: A month after 23 children in a small Bihar village were literally served death on their plates, the trauma still lingers. The Chhapra mid-day meal tragedy became a flashpoint of an intense debate on the state of school mid-day meals, a scheme run across the country.

Asha Devi, who lost her 10-year-old daughter, Mamata Kumari, says, "I cannot sleep. I feel nervous all the time. My heart beats very fast." Two of her other children, who also had the ill-fated meal on July 16 with Mamata, returned home on August 6 after spending 22 days at the Patna Medical College Hospital.

Asha Devi's sentiments find echo in the village, marked by a painful silence of death and grief.

Teras Prasad Yadav has still not returned to work in Delhi. He lost his four-year-old daughter Khushboo to the tragedy. Two of his other children also fell ill and have still not recovered.

"I was anyway thinking of putting my children at a private school. And then this tragedy happened. I will not send them to a government school again. They only sanction things, and forget about monitoring them," says Mr Yadav.

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A forensic report on whether the free lunch served to children was poisoned confirmed traces of insecticides in the food sample.

The state government announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh per dead child. The principal of the school where the tragedy happened has been arrested and charged with criminal negligence. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who had hinted at a political conspiracy behind the tragedy, said he will convert Gandaman into a model village.

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But Surender Prasad, another grieving father, remains angry, "I just want to tell the government: if you have to give us something, give it quickly or just forget about it."