After the fateful day on October 29, when students had fallen ill after dinner at Wankidi Ashram School in Kumuram Bheem Asifabad District the authorities are getting groceries from outside to cook food for the students.
They are getting mineral water for the students. The officials who are investigating the food poisoning incident have seized all the groceries stored in the school.
The routine now is that at about 1 pm the students come out from the class rooms for lunch. After cleaning their plates, they form a queue for their turn to be served food at the kitchen.
Students Sweety and Geetha (name changed) said that after the food poisoning incident, the authorities were getting mineral water from outside. They were also taking enough care that the food is cooked with quality ingredients and are providing clean water.
That day
On the fateful day, the students were served rice and brinjal curry for lunch. For dinner they were served rice, tomato curry and eggs. The students fell ill after dinner.
In Class IX, there are 107 students. On that day, about half of them had dinner and all of them were affected. Among them was C Shailaja, who died recently while undergoing treatment at Nizam's Institute Of Medical Sciences (NIMS) in Hyderabad.
Others are unwell too
A Class VII student Mahalakshmi is convalescing at her home in Limbuguda village. Her parents are afraid of sending her back to school. She was under treatment at NIMS, Hyderabad for 25 days.
"The doctors told us that she fell ill because of food poisoning," her brother Manik Rao said.
The girl said that she had eaten rice and brinjal curry. "The food was not alright. The colour of rice had a blue tinge. In the night I experienced food poisoning symptoms and I was shifted to Mancherial hospital first and from there to NIMS," she said adding that she had noticed insects in the rice that was served to them sometimes. "The vegetables used for making curries are rotten more often than not," she recalled.
The parents are afraid of sending their children to school after the food poisoning incident.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Rathod Rajaram, a native of Pipargondi village in Wankidi mandal, visited the school on Thursday to see how his daughter, who is in Class VII, is. She is one among the students who was affected by food poisoning. She was treated at a Wankidi hospital and discharged.
R Saibrao, another native of Pipargondi, said his two daughters are studying in CLasses VIII and VI in the school. He was at the school when The New Indian Express interacted with them. He said that he came to the school to see his daughters after the food poisoning incident. "The management should allow the parents to taste the food whenever they visit the school so that they would know what kind of food is being served to the students."
Gundi Maisaiah, a native of Koriti in Wankidi mandal, said that he reached the school to see his daughter who is in ninth standard. "My daughter had asked me to get her soaps and some other items. I am here with these items as she is now having lunch. She was lucky not to have been affected by food poisoning on that fateful day," he said, adding that three students from his village were affected and were now recovering at their homes in his village.
Warden rotation
According to one official, in most of the schools in the district, one teacher is appointed as in-charge warden. The in-charge warden should be changed every three months but some are managing to continue as in-change wardens using their influence in the government. "They cannot do justice to teaching as well as discharge the duties as warden," he said.
In Wankidi Ashram School, the headmaster has been working for a long time and an outsourced employee has been working as an in-change warden. This outsourced employee also works as a driver for the headmaster.
Recently, one person was posted as warden after transfer but the headmaster harassed him to the point that he went to another school within three months. When The New Indian Express visited the school on Thursday there were 324 students out of the total 524.
The students are facing inconvenience due to the lack of bathrooms and toilets commensurate with the strength of the school. In the morning they would have to wait in queue for their turn at the toilets. The students are required to clean them up.
After the suspension of headmaster G Srinivas, the government appointed a teacher as in-charge headmaster but he seems to be not willing to take any responsibility. One official said:"You can go around and see whatever you want in the school but we cannot tell you anything as investigation into the food poisoning incident is still on."
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Integrated Tribal Advisory Committee director Soyam Bheem Rao said that the water is provided by a tanker which is used for both drinking purpose as well as for bathing. There is a need to shift the headmaster and the other staff as they have been continuing for quite a long time.
"The committee which is appointed by the government to inquire into the incident will interact with the students in front of the teachers. It all depends on what the students would say about the quality of food served to them, he said.
Additional Collector Deepak Tiwari who inspected the schools in Kumurambheem-Asifabad district, found rotten potatoes in Moghaddhad Ashram School in Korutla mandal. The head cook was not available and the daily wage workers were seen cooking the food.
