Karwar: Students fall sick, twelve admitted to ICU after eating mid-day meal at Govt School
Parents allege food contained rat droppings
Karwar: More than 22 students of the Government Model School in Mundgod taluk fell ill on Saturday after consuming the midday meal served on the campus. According to reports from the area, the students complained of severe stomach pain and vomiting shortly after eating the meal.
A total of around 400 students had reportedly consumed the food. Twenty-two of them were taken to hospital for treatment. Hospital authorities confirmed that 12 students were admitted to the ICU, while the remaining ten were discharged after receiving medical care.
Parents alleged that the food items supplied under the Akshara Dasoha scheme were of poor quality. They claimed that sacks of rice and other ingredients used in the midday meal often contained garbage, dust, dirt and even rat droppings. Parents also said they found droppings in the food served on Saturday and questioned the staff, but did not receive a clear response.
According to the parents, storage rooms where the food grains are kept resemble unhygienic godowns. They said the head teacher has the authority to reject substandard supplies but the option is not being exercised. Parents further alleged that they had raised these concerns with officials, including the block education officer, yet no corrective action had been taken.
They also said similar conditions prevail in some government and Urdu schools in Ashraya Nagara and Gudnapur Colony in nearby Haliyala town.
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Russian military hardware, spare parts for Indian military to be manufactured in India
New Delhi (PTI): Russia agreed to encourage joint manufacturing in India of military hardware and spare parts for maintenance of Russian-origin arms and defence equipment.
Ways to bolster overall bilateral defence cooperation figured prominently during summit talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.
It has been a long-standing grievance of armed forces that the supply of critical spares and equipment from Russia takes a long time, affecting the maintenance of military systems procured from that country.
"Both sides agreed to encourage joint manufacturing in India of spare parts, components, aggregates and other products for maintenance of Russian origin arms and defence equipment under Make-in-India programme through transfer of technology," a joint statement said.
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It said both sides also agreed to set up joint ventures for meeting the needs of the Indian armed forces as well as subsequent export to mutually friendly third countries.
The joint statement said the India-Russia defence partnership is being reoriented to take up joint co-development and co-production of advanced defence technology and systems.
In their meeting on Thursday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Russian counterpart Andrey Belousov resolved to expand bilateral defence cooperation.
In the meeting, the Indian side showed keen interest in procurement of additional batches of S-400 missile systems from Moscow to bolster its combat prowess.
In October 2018, India signed a USD 5 billion deal with Russia to buy five units of the S-400 air defence missile systems, notwithstanding a warning by the US that going ahead with the contract may invite US sanctions under the provisions of Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).
Three squadrons have already been delivered.
The S-400 systems played a crucial role during Operation Sindoor. India may also look at procuring the S-500 missile systems from Russia.
In the Modi-Putin talks, the two sides also agreed to continue jointly developing systems of bilateral trade settlements through the use of national currencies.
Additionally, the two sides agreed to continue their consultations on enabling the interoperability of the national payment systems, financial messaging systems, as well as central bank digital currency platforms.
Modi and Putin appreciated the ongoing intensification of the joint work on a free trade agreement on goods between India and the Eurasian Economic Union, covering sectors of mutual interest, the joint statement said.
They also directed both sides to intensify efforts in negotiations on a mutually beneficial agreement on the promotion and protection of investment, it said.
India and Russia also welcomed steps to ensure long-term supply of fertilisers to India and discussed the potential establishment of joint ventures in this area.
