HYDERABAD: A third incident of food poisoning at a government school within five days caused health concerns, as 30 girl students of the BC Welfare Residential School in Manchal of Rangareddy district fell ill after having breakfast on Saturday morning and had to be rushed to the hospital for treatment.
Sources said that the school has a total student strength of 90, of which 30 girls had khichdi for breakfast, following which they started vomiting and complaining of abdominal pain.
Students said that one of them found an insect in the dish, which may have caused the incident. Further, they complained they were served rice and daal every day, with no vegetables.
Following the incident, 15 students were rushed to the local public healthcare centre (PHC) in Manchal, while six others were rushed to the Vanasthalipuram Area Hospital.
Family members of the students were informed only after they were admitted to the hospital, putting them in a state of panic and worry.
Bharat Nayak, a resident of Injapur village, whose sister Akhila was one of the girls admitted to the hospital, said he got a call from the school authorities in the afternoon, informing him about the incident.
“I rushed to the hospital as soon as I got to know about my sister’s condition. I am extremely worried about her well-being and at the same time, furious about the carelessness of the school officials for putting the life of our children at risk. I am not willing to send my sister back to the school again. We are waiting for doctors to discharge my sister so that I can take her home,” he said.
Health officials said that treatment was given based on the condition of the students.
Dr Venkateshwar Rao, district medical health officer (DMHO), Rangareddy, told Deccan Chronicle: “Some 20 girls students from the welfare school were rushed to the Manchala PHC after they complained of vomiting, stomach ache and diarrhoea. They were given first aid and vitals were checked and discharged as they were stable. Six more girls who needed attention were admitted to Vanasthalipuram Area Hospital as there was no paediatrician at the Manchal PHC.”
The six girls who were admitted to the hospital were given an IV to stabilise their vitals.
Dr N. Krishna, RMO, Vanasthalipuram Area Hospital, said, “Six girls between 11 and 13 years of age were admitted to the hospital and were given IV as they suffered from diarrhoea and vomiting. As of now, all of them are stable and their blood and urine samples have been sent for testing for further diagnosis.”
Dr Dharani Naik, deputy DMHO, Ibrahimpatnam, said that following the food poisoning complaint in the morning, the food inspector was called for an inspection and food samples were sent to labs to ascertain the cause of food poisoning.
School warden C. Saritha was unavailable for comment.
