According to officials, around 27 pupils of a school at Tajpur in Samastipur region of Bihar fell ill after taking a mid-day meal in which a lizard was later found.

A doctor at a hospital stated, "They are suffering from food poisoning. But after initial treatment, they are now out of danger."

The police functionaries said that around 27 pupils fell ill after consuming the meal served at a government school. The district administration has ordered a investigation into the incident.

Furious parents blocked the National Highway No 28 to protest against the episode.

A range of such cases have been reported in Bihar during the last one year.

A few months back, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar admitted that there were shortcomings in the implementation of the mid-day meal scheme, under which students in government-run schools are served free lunch.

The scheme covers over 80,000 schools across the state.

The mid-day meal scheme is the world's largest nutrition-supplement programme, covering over a million schools all over the country.

It was launched in the year 1995 to deal with the twin problems of dropouts in primary schools and malnutrition among kids. (With Inputs from Agencies)