In the wake of the mid-day meal tragedy in Bihar,the Centre today decided to constitute a monitoring committee to look into the quality of food supplied even as it said that it had issued alerts to 12 Bihar districts after shortcomings were found in implementation of the scheme. Warning ignored: Quality of mid-day meals in Bihar was already a concern The committee is expected to supplement the efforts of the existing mid-day meal monitoring committee which meets twice a year and warns the states if there are any shortcomings. Related: No ambulance for them,villagers carried their dead on motorcycles Asked if any warnings were issued to Bihar by the committee earlier this year after some shortcomings in the implementation of the programme were identified,HRD Minister M M Pallam Raju replied in the affirmative. "Yes,apparently there has been. There were 12 districts that were identified and alerts were sent and Saran (hit by the incident) was among them," he told reporters here today on the sidelines of a function. He,however,said they do not wish to highlight the issue right now and play a blame game over it as the death of the children have shocked all. Cook who lost 8 children from family fights for life The focus would now be on strengthening the programme and to ensure such incidents does not "recur again",he said. He said in the wake of the tragedy that claimed 22 lives,the Centre has decided to constitute a quality monitoring committee to look into the quality of food supplied and ensure effectiveness of the supply chain and proper hygiene. The committee is expected to supplement the efforts of the existing midday meal monitoring committee which meets twice a year and warns the states if there are any shortcomings."We have decided to form a committee which will look into the qualitative aspect of implementation of the programme,the quality of the food that is supplied,the effectiveness of the supply chain and the hygiene of the place where it is cooked," he said. Officials said the composition of the committee is being worked out. The vigilance and monitoring committees constituted in every districts with MPs as members should also ensure that the quality aspect is looked into,he added. Raju,who yesterday feared that contamination of food could be one of the reasons for the death,said they are awaiting the forensic report and responsibility will be fixed. Toll rises One more child has died in the midday meal tragedy in Chhapra taking the toll to 23,while 25 others,including 24 children and a cook,were under treatment in the Patna Medical College and Hospital. The district administration has come to know about the death of a child who was buried by family-members without informing the authorities,Saran District Magistrate Abhijit Sinha told PTI. Seventeen school children died in the Sadar Hospital in Chhapra,four were declared brought dead on arrival to PMCH on late Tuesday night and two lost their lives during treatment at PMCH yesterday. PMCH Superintendent Amarkant Jha Azad contradicted media reports about some fresh deaths including that of the cook Manju Devi. "The condition of all 25,including 24 children and woman cook Manju Devi,is improving," Azad told PTI. Saran DM said that the officials had checked by visiting every house in the vicinity of Dharmasati Gandavan village to know about any death about which the authority has no knowledge. He said that the principal of the school,Meena Devi,is absconding with her husband and the police was conducting raids against them. The principal,against whom an FIR has been lodged,has already been suspended by the administration. The DM said that the government primary school,where the tragedy took place,had been closed till further order.
