Dead lizard found in school lunch

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HOWRAH, India, April 11 (UPI) -- At least 50 schoolchildren in the eastern India community of Howrah became ill after eating a government-supplied meal containing a dead lizard, officials said.

Students who ate the meal supplied by the Integrated Child Development Center were taken to a medical clinic, Bikyamasr.com reported Tuesday.

The meal is part of a government program in which a mandatory midday meal is served to ensure children are properly fed and used as an inducement for children to attend school.

Suspicions about the tainted meal were raised after about 70 children started vomiting and feeling faint, Bikyamasr.com said.

"I have information that a dead lizard is found in the porridge and an inquiry has been ordered," Child Development Project Officer Mithu Acharya said. "Strict action will be taken against those responsible for the negligence."

Officials said similar cases were reported in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Goa in western India.