BIDAR, Jan. 30 -- Inquiries were ordered on Thursday after a photograph purportedly showing students at a government higher primary school in Karnataka's Bagalkote district rinsing their lunch plates beside an open drain was widely circulated on social media, officials said.

The incident at the school in Alabal village in Jamkhandi taluk came to wider attention on Wednesday after the image was posted on Facebook, tagging elected representatives and government departments.

Parents and local community members alleged that the situation reflected the absence of adequate drinking water and handwashing facilities on the campus. Public health concerns have also been raised, with fears that exposure to sewage water could put students at risk o...