Chhapra, Bihar:
It was an unfussy and routine meal served at a government primary school. Rice and dal with a bit of soyabean nuggets and potatoes. It proved to be a killer meal, claiming the lives of 23 children between the ages of four and 12.
It was the worst tragedy to hit the world's largest school nutrition programme.
Bihar's Gandhaman village will never be the same again. In a school room, a handful of books, plates and cloth bags, abandoned by children who were convulsed with pain, are a grim reminder of a Black Tuesday.
The body of eight-year-old Rahul was buried right at the steps of the school. Since children are not cremated, the other victims have also been buried nearby.
Rahul's grandfather, Mukeshwar Ram, said, "I buried him there because this is where he lost his life."
Over 30 families have either lost a child or have one in hospital.
Buji has taken to her bed, unable to speak, to eat, to get on with everyday life. Her three children died after eating the free hot meal that was laced with pesticide. The youngest, Vikas, had gone to school for the first time that day.
For poor families like Buji's, enrollment in a government school meant access to schemes like free uniforms, books, and mid-day meals for their children.
Prabhawati Devi weeps, "My greed made me send my children to this school."
On a normal day, there were about 30 to 40 children in the school. But on that day there were double the number. The families had heard that free books would be distributed and had compelled their children to attend school.
Teras Yadav, who works as a helper in Delhi, returned to his village after he learnt that his daughter and nephew were dead.
His relatives are riddled with the trauma of seeking medical help for their children at the primary health centre in Mashrak and the district hospital in Chapra. "Families were being asked to buy the glucose and the medicines. Our child died before he got treatment," says one.
Families say that no attempt has been made by the government to react with sensitivity to the shock and anguish of the mothers who have been rendered childless.
Investigations are on in the case of the poisoned mid-day meal. While conspiracy theories are doing the rounds, there is no conclusive evidence so far.
What has been established, however, is the presence of a poisonous pesticide in the mid-day meal.
The Forensic Science Laboratory report found Monocrotophos, an organophosphorous compound in the samples of oil from the container and of food remains.
Dr Shakeel, Executive Director, Centre for Health and Resource Management, said, "We are suggesting that there should be ban on free access to pesticides and recently the Supreme Court has taken a note in the case of acids being sold in the open market. In the long run, the government should move from chemical farming to organic farming which has been a strength of Bihar."
The state government has now said that it would look into the role of senior deputy collector, district education officer (DEO) and block education extension officers (BEEO), charged with the responsibility to monitor the mid-day meal project. It has ordered the school to be moved from its present site and merged with the nearest middle school where infrastructure for mid-day meals was better.