A dead rat was found in meal served at a government-run Aahaar centre situated near the Brahmapur railway station on Sunday.
Even after the matter was brought to notice of the Aahaar Centre officials immediately by a person, who found the dead rat in a dish on his plate, the remaining dishes were served to others.
A youth, Sunil Behera, along with a friend, had visited Brahmapur from Bhubaneswar to appear in a competitive examination. After alighting at the railway station, the duo found an Aahaar Centre nearby and preferred to dine out there. They bought the tickets and stood in queue to have the Rs 5 meal.
While going to have lunch together, Sunil found the dead rat in his meal. He showed it to the Aahaar Centre staffs. One of the employees threw his meal into a bin and continued serving meals to others.
Even though the State Government has been laying emphasis on the quality of meal at the Aahaar Centres, such an incidence has raised eyebrows of many.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has directed his Ministerial colleagues to take lunch at Aahaar Centres and schools to test quality of food while making surprise visits to districts every month to monitor proper implementation of various programmes.