Bihar School Meal Poisoning

Date: July 16, 2013 • Location: Patna, India

At least 23 students died and dozens more fell ill at a primary school in the Indian state of Bihar after consuming a Midday Meal that was contaminated with pesticide.

Bihar is a state in eastern India. It borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Bengal to the east, and Jharkhand to the south. Bihar is split by the river Ganges, which flows from west to east. It is the second largest state by population, the 12th largest by area, and the 14th largest by GDP in 2024. Bihar's official languages are Hindi and Urdu. The main native languages are Maithili, Magahi and Bhojpuri, but there are several other languages being spoken at smaller levels.