As many as 33 students at a government-run girls' hostel in Telangana's Warangal district fell ill due to food poisoning. The incident occurred at the hostel of the tribal girls' Asham high school at Wardhannapet on the night of September 5. The girls started complaining of vomiting and stomach ache after eating dinner, as stated in a report by IANS.
The girls who were seriously ill were shifted to MGM Hospital in Warangal. Thirteen students have been admitted to a special ward and doctors said that their condition is now stable. A girl undergoing treatment at the hospital said that she noticed a dead lizard in the food and stopped eating. Though she informed the person in charge, he told her that it was not a lizard but a green chilli. A few minutes later, several students started vomiting and also complained of stomach ache and diarrhoea.
A total of 33 students became ill and 13 of them suffered severe symptoms. Worried parents of the students rushed to the hospital. Education department officials have ordered an inquiry into the matter, following the incident. They said that "strong action" would be taken against those found responsible.
Meanwhile, BJP state president Bandi Sanjay demanded that the affected students be shifted to Hyderabad for better treatment. He claimed that 60 students had fallen ill. He voiced concern over a series of such incidents reported at residential schools during the last two months. He alleged that the state government has failed to ensure quality food at residential schools, as per IANS.
Other incidents of food poisoning
Food poisoning cases have been on the rise in government and government-aided schools, colleges and gurukula of the state. From IIIT Basara to Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya, Adilabad — these cases have gripped many educational institutions. As per the data accumulated by the members of the Hakku Initiative, a social campaign of the Institute of Perception Studies, Delhi, in August 2022, 347 students fell ill due to contaminated food/water in various government residential schools/colleges/hostels in Telangana.
Overall, in a span of eight months, 1,070 students suffered from food poisoning. Out of 33 districts in Telangana, 17 districts reported food poisoning cases, namely Adilabad, Asifabad, Nirmal, Mancherial, Kamareddy, Sircilla, Karimnagar, Sangareddy, Medak, Siddipet, Hanumakonda, Vikarabad, Mahabubnagar, Mahabubabad, Nalgonda, Gadwal and Khammam.
