Karimnagar: As many as 173 school children fell ill yesterday (Nov 29, 2004) after they consumed mid-day meal cooked in a vessel in which a lizard fell at a primary school in Andhra Pradesh's Karimnagar district.

The students of Machanna Palli Primary School in Jammikunta sub-division, nearly 65 kms from Karimnagar, were rushed to hospital and discharged after treatment, Karimnagar Revenue Divisional Officer J Gopalakrishna Prasada Rao said.

He said a lizard fell into one of the vessels in which the meal, meant for students, was cooked.