17 students hospitalised after lizard found in breakfast at Poonamallee school

CHENNAI: As many as seventeen students were hospitalised after consuming pongal in which a lizard was allegedly found at a government-aided school in Poonamallee, Tiruvallur district, on Monday morning.

The incident occurred when breakfast was served to students under the Tamil Nadu government's Chief Minister's Breakfast Scheme. While the students were eating the pongal, teachers reportedly noticed a lizard in the food and immediately stopped the children from consuming it.

Students who had already eaten the food complained of mild vomiting and dizziness. Eleven students were taken to the Poonamallee Government Hospital, where they are undergoing treatment and remain under medical observation.

Five students of a government girls' school located behind the Varadharaja Perumal Temple in Poonamallee also consumed the same food and developed similar symptoms. They too were taken to the hospital for treatment.

The food was prepared at a municipal cooking centre and supplied to more than 1,300 students in 12 government and government-aided schools in Mangadu, Kundrathur and Poonamallee. After the incident came to light, officials alerted the other schools supplied by the centre and stopped distribution of the breakfast.

Teachers and doctors are monitoring the other students to determine whether anyone else has been affected. The incident has raised concerns over food safety under the breakfast scheme.