Bhubaneswar, Jan. 6: Students of various schools in the state are not consuming eggs served as part of their midday meals because of the bird flu scare.

Consequently, many schools have stopped serving eggs to check wastage.

State nodal officer for midday meals Gangadhar Saho, however, said that no formal order had been passed to stop eggs in the midday meals.

"Since the situation is under control at many places, we have asked district education officers to take the decision on the matter for their respective districts. They can take the decisions after talking to the chief district veterinary officers," he said.

"We watched on TV how dead birds - crows and hens - are being found at different places. The government is killing birds and burying them to check the spread of disease. Hence we have asked our children not to eat eggs at school till the situation improves," said Subhashree Kujar, who stays at the Shikarchandi basti.

Midday meals are served to almost 55 lakh students from classes I to VIII in government and government-aided schools. Eggs are served twice a week - on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

"I stopped eating eggs, because my friend did not eat it. Afterwards, many others stopped eating eggs as well," said Dinesh Lenka, a Class V student.

Khurda district education officer Brundaban Satpathy has issued orders to stop serving eggs in eight blocks. He said: "The decision was taken after consultation with the chief district veterinary officer of Khurda. He advised us to stop serving eggs in the meal till the situation improved."

Some schools are serving paneer in place of eggs. At least 13 birds were found dead in four areas of Bhubaneswar on Wednesday. These were found at IRC Village and Ekamra Vihar. The blood samples have been sent for test. Also, shops selling chicken have been asked to report bird deaths to the civic authorities.