Bengaluru: A dead rat was found in a vessel containing sambar that was part of the mid-day meal served to conservancy workers at Srirammandir ward on Tuesday.

The sambar was brought to the BBMP health office as part of the meal served to conservancy workers. “There was a large black rat inside the vessel,” said Deepa Ganesh, corporator, Srirammandir ward, adding that a similar incident had occurred in December.

She said the rat might have fallen into the vessel either during cooking or transportation. “Officials should examine the complete chain of delivery to ensure such mistakes do not repeat,” she said.

When the matter was raised in the council on Wednesday, the Mayor dismissed the claim, saying “something small like a rat” was found in the vessel.

The corporator alleged that no BBMP official had come to the health office. “Today morning, a rat was found outside the Mayor’s house and every official assembled there. But when the health of 30,000 workers was at stake, no official responded,” the corporator said.