The rat was spotted in the meals on Tuesday.

BENGALURU: It was a tiring day for them, cleaning the garbage-filled streets of Sri Ram Mandir ward. When it was time for food on Tuesday noon, the pourakarmikas were greeted with a nauseating sight; a dead rat was floating in the sambar served to them. But the real shock came when an insensitive mayor tried to sweep the matter under the rug, saying the rodent was very small.

The issue reached the BBMP council meet on Wednesday after the workers complained to their corporator Deepa Nagesh . “On finding the rat, the pourakarmikas contacted me. I alerted the officials immediately, but nobody bothered to visit the centre where the incident took place,” said Deepa Nagesh.

“It (rat) could not have got into the sambar at the cooking stage, but while the food was being transported. We will look into the matter,” mayor G Padmavathi said.

Reacting to the mayor’s comments, Deepa told TOI: “How does the size of the rat matter when it’s spotted in food? The mayor didn’t let me speak till the end of the meeting.”

The mid-day meal for pourakarmikas are stored in a small room next to the ward office on Vatal Nagarj Road in Sri Ram Mandir ward.

“This is the second time that rat is found in their food. A month ago, a rat was found in the vessel where Bisi Bele Bath was stored. By then many had finished their meals and the leftover was thrown out. On Tuesday, the workers saw the rat floating in the sambar. They had to pay for food purchased from a nearby hotel. On Wednesday, they refused to eat pulav and raitha sent by the food suppliers,” said S Ramesha, a supporter of the corporator.

