Lizard in food, seven students critical

September 10th, 2009 LUCKNOW - Police had to face stiff opposition from students in Allahabad University Thursday when they tried to arrest the 12 students who Wednesday carried out violent protests on the campus while demanding restoration of students' union polls. Owing to the strong opposition of the varsity students, police managed to arrest only two of the 12 students who have been booked for Wednesday's vandalism on the campus.

August 23rd, 2009 BHOPAL - Sixteen students of Dr. Harisingh Gour University in Madhya Pradesh's Sagar town have been suspended for 15 days after being accused of ragging their juniors, an official said Sunday.

July 24th, 2009 PATNA - Five people, including the headmaster and two teachers, were arrested in Bihar's Nalanda district after a lizard was found in the mid-day meals served to school children, officials said Friday. In the last three weeks various such cases have been reported in the state.

June 27th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Australian High Commissioner John McCarthy says every possible effort will be made to ensure that attacks on Indian students in Australia are not repeated, adding that the authorities will "pursue those responsible" for the assaults. In a letter to the Non-Aligned Students and Youth Movement (NASYM) that had staged a demonstration here June 18 against the attacks on Indian students in Australia, McCarthy said: "The Australian government will make every effort to ensure that attacks are not repeated and that Australia remains a preferred destination for students from around the world." He said that the Australian government is working closely with the Indian government on the issue.

May 25th, 2009 PATNA - All the 10 poor Muslim students enrolled in a special coaching institute for the community have passed the highly competitive Indian Institute of Technology-Joint Entrance Examination (IIT-JEE), the institute announced here Monday. "All 10 of our students are from poor families.

April 22nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - As many as 31 students of a government-aided school in the capital fell ill Wednesday after eating mid-day meals provided by the school, police said. The incident took place in Baba Nebraj Secondary School in south Delhi's Jal Vihar area around 10.30 a.m.

April 20th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - The Panjab University (PU) Monday announced that it will provide free education to blind students from the next academic session. 'This decision has been taken as we want to fulfil our commitment towards the visually impaired students.

April 7th, 2009 RANCHI - A woman was in critical condition in Jharkhand after being beaten up by All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) activists for refusing to let them paste posters at her tea stall, police said Tuesday. The woman, identified as Gita, was warded with serious injures at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences here after the attack Monday night by about 20 people.

March 31st, 2009 PATNA - Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) aspirants across Bihar Tuesday offered prayers for the wellbeing of senior police officer Abhyanand, involved with Super 30 - an initiative which selects a group of 30 aspirants for the prestigious institutes from poor and marginalised families and provides free coaching, food and accommodation. Abhyanand, an additional director general of police, who coached such students, suddenly fell seriously ill after he arrived to conduct a test for selection of Super 30 students here.

March 20th, 2009 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - A 15-member Italian delegation from the University of Gastronomic Sciences [UNiSG], an academic institution founded by the 'Slow Food' movement, will visit Kerala Saturday, the organisers said in a statement Thursday. The 'Slow Food' movement is against the fast food culture and promotes traditional food items of the respective countries.

March 8th, 2009 RANCHI - More than 40 school students in a Jharkhand school fell ill after eating a meal cooked using washing powder instead of salt, police said Saturday. The incident occurred Friday in Kargalo Middle School in Bishnugarh block of Hazaribagh district, some 130 km from here.

March 6th, 2009 LUCKNOW - Authorities of three government schools in Uttar Pradesh's Banda district will face action for making students prepare lunch under the Mid-Day Meal (MDM) scheme, an official said Friday. 'We will take stern action against the staff of three government schools in Banda district, where students prepare the meal,' basic education officer Omkar Rana told IANS on telephone from Banda, some 200 km from Lucknow.

February 1st, 2009 RANCHI - Marriage celebrations in a village in Jharkhand turned tragic when a woman and a child died due to food poisoning and 19 other people were hospitalised, the police said. According to the police, the villagers left Sunday night to attend a marriage in Jaldega block in Simdega district, some 120 km from Ranchi.

January 26th, 2009 LUCKNOW - Students of a government-run primary school in Uttar Pradesh refused to eat food as a Dalit woman had cooked it, an official said Tuesday. The majority of students, belonging to the upper caste, refused to have lunch provided to them under the Mid-Day Meal Scheme by the Guraini Primary School in Khetaasrai village of Jaunpur, about 150 km from here.

December 27th, 2008 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - The Kerala School Kalotsavam, a mega cultural meet, is all set to enter the Guinness Book of Records as nearly 9,000 students are taking part in over 215 events. Students, studying in Class 8-12 at government schools, are participating in the 49th edition of the festival, which closes Monday.