Sir — This refers to the news report, “Mid-day meal snuffs out 12 lives” (July 17).
Shocking as this tragedy at a Government primary school in Saran, Bihar is, it is neither the first of its kind nor will it be the last, given the way the administration functions. The incident only demonstrates how cheap lives are in this country and how lackadaisical and apathetic the system is. There are numerous reports and complaints about the poor quality of food provided to the children and of the unholy nexus that exists between corrupt scheme coordinators and headmasters of primary schools across the country. These people have no qualms about making money from this lucrative project even at the cost of endangering the lives of poor students.
Hardly a handful of schools follow the standard menu and norms defined in the mid-day meal scheme. But, as is apparent, no action was ever taken to stem the rot. Will the Centre and State Governments now wake up from their deep slumberIJ Strict vigilance is the need of the hour.