A shocking incident has come to light at an 'Anganwadi' in Sangli district, western Maharashtra, where a tiny dead snake was allegedly found in a packet distributed under the mid-day meal scheme meant for children aged between six months and three years. This discovery has prompted authorities to launch an immediate probe into the matter.
The incident, reported on Monday by the parents of a child in Palus, has sparked concern, according to Anandi Bhosale, Vice-President of the State Anganwadi Workers' Union. Congress leader and Palus-Kadegaon MLA Vishwajeet Kadam has labeled it a "serious" matter, raising the issue during the state legislative assembly's ongoing monsoon session. Kadam has urged for a thorough investigation into the incident and called for appropriate action against those found responsible.
According to district officials, the parents of the child disposed of the dead snake after photographing it and promptly sent the image to the local anganwadi worker. Despite this proactive action, authorities have collected a sample of the food from the packet and forwarded it to a laboratory for testing.
“Children in the age group of six months to three years receive packets of mid-day meal, a premix of dal khichadi, at anganwadis. These packets are distributed to families once they arrive at the anganwadi. On Monday, meal packets were distributed by anganwadi workers in Palus. The parents of one child claimed that a tiny dead snake was found in the packet they received,” Bhosale said on Wednesday.
The parents took a photo of the snake and sent it to the anganwadi sevika, she said. “But by the time the sevika forwarded the photo to our district sevika group, the parents had already disposed of the suspected dead snake,” she said.
Bhosale further stated that the matter was raised during a meeting held on July 2. Sandip Yadav, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Sangli Zilla Parishad responsible for the Women and Child Welfare and Anganwadi section, was duly informed about the incident.