After consuming midday meals tainted by a stray dog, 78 pupils at a government-run school in the Balodabazar area of Chhattisgarh received anti-rabies vaccinations, according to an official. He stated on Saturday that an investigation into the sequence of events is in progress.
The incident happened on July 29 at Government Middle School in Lachchhanpur, which is part of the Palari block. He said, “A stray dog contaminated cooked vegetables that were to be served to school students as part of their mid-day meal. Some of the students informed the teachers about the incident. Teachers had asked the self-help group that cooked the food not to serve it, but they went ahead, claiming it was not contaminated.”
78 children received the anti-rabies vaccination after their parents brought them to the closest health facility. Lachhanpur health centre in charge Veena Verma quoted, “The anti-rabies vaccine was administered as a precautionary measure, not because of confirmed infection. There is no side effect of the first dose. It was done on the demand of villagers, parents and SMC (school management committee) members.”
Block education officer Naresh Verma and Sub-Divisional Magistrate Deepak Nikunj visited the school on Saturday along with other officials to look into the situation. Children’s, parents’, teachers’, and school management committee members’ statements were recorded. The insider went on to say that SHG members did not participate in the inquiry.
Sandeep Sahu, a local MLA, wrote to Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai in the meantime, requesting an investigation into the incident and action against those responsible. Additionally, he wanted to know whose orders the kids received the anti-rabies shots.