REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, NEW DELHI  - About 300 pupils at an Indian school were rushed to a hospital after consuming government-provided lunches, evoking memories of 23 children who died last year after eating food from the same welfare scheme.

A dead lizard was found in one of the seven food containers provided under India's midday meal scheme at a government school in southern city of Bangalore, a teacher told Reuters.

That led to a panic situation as food had already been served to several pupils.

"We stopped the children from eating and rushed them to a hospital," said Syeda Tabassum, a school teacher who was part of the group that served food to the children on Friday.

"All students are safe now," she added, saying most had been discharged from the hospital.

It was not immediately clear whether the contamination originated at the school or where the food was prepared. Police officials were not immediately available for a comment.

The Bangalore school has been receiving meals under the scheme for the past 10 years, but had never faced a similar issue, Tabassum said. However, parents are now worried.   

"My child started vomiting after eating the food. We will not let her eat government food now ... we just have one girl," a parent told the NDTV news channel.

The midday meal scheme, which gives more than 100 million school pupils a free lunch, is the largest such program in the world. It has been widely lauded as one of the most successful welfare measures in India.

But last year, 23 children died after being poisoned by a school meal provided under the scheme, sparking violent protests in the eastern state of Bihar. Police said cooking oil used for the meals had been stored in a used pesticide container.

For millions of poor Indian families, the lunch is the only full meal their children eat in a day. That encourages them to send them to school and not keep them home to help with chores.

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