Maharashtra: Dead snake found in mid-day meal packet in Sangli

A small dead snake was allegedly found in a packet distributed under the midday meal scheme meant for children aged between six months and three years at an Anganwadi or a governmentrun nursery school in Sangli district of western Maharashtra prompting the authorities to launch a probe reported PTIThe incident was reported by the parents of a child in Palus on Monday saidAnandi Bhosale VicePresident of the State Anganwadi Workers Union told PTIVishwajeet Kadam who is a Congress leader and PalusKadegaon MLA calling it a serious incident raised the issue in the Maharashtra legislative assembly in the ongoing monsoon sessionA dead baby snake was found in the midday meal provided to pregnant women and children in the age group of six months to three years This is a serious issue The government should understand that the lives of pregnant women and children are at risk Harsh punishment should be taken against the guilty Kadam wrote in a post on XHe reportedly demanded a detailed probe into the incident and action against those responsible for itAs per the PTI report district officials said the childs parents disposed of the dead snake after photographing it and sent the image to the local anganwadi sevika worker But despite this according to the officials the food sample from the packet has been collected and sent to a laboratory for testingChildren in the age group of six months to three years receive packets of midday meal a premix of dal khichadi at anganwadis These packets are distributed to families once they arrive at the anganwadi On Monday meal packets were distributed by anganwadi workers in Palus The parents of one child claimed that a tiny dead snake was found in the packet they received Bhosale told PTI on WednesdayShe further added the parents took a photo of the snake and sent it to the anganwadi sevikaBut by the time the sevika forwarded the photo to our district sevika group the parents had already disposed of the suspected dead snake she saidBhosale added that the issue was raised during a meeting held on July 2 and Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Sangli Zilla Parishad Sandip Yadav who heads the Women and Child Welfare and Anganwadi section was informed reported PTIShe said the godown where the meal packets are stored was reportedly sealed following the incidentBhosale also claimed that there have been complaints about the contractor responsible for supplying the premixed meal packets reported PTIAccording to the report Yadav told PTI during the investigation officials learned that the parents had discarded the alleged dead object found in the packetThe packets are directly distributed by the contractor to the anganwadis and from there they are given to the beneficiaries within two to three daysIn this case neither the anganwadi sevika nor any other district administration official saw the object only the parents claimed to have seen it he saidSo based on the photo they clicked and the food samples from the packet the investigation will proceed he added reported PTIAs per the news agency report Yadav claimed that the Food and Drugs Administration FDA has reportedly collected samples of the food items from the packet for laboratory testingWith inputs from PTI