18 students, headmistress fall ill after eating mid-day meal in C'garh

Korba (C'garh), Sept 2: As many as 18 students of a government primary school and its headmistress fell ill after eating mid-day meal at a village in Chhattisgarh's Surguja district, officials said today.

The incident took place yesterday afternoon at the primary school run by Tribal Welfare Department in Sisila village panchayat near Ambikapur town.

According to local officials, after the food was served to teachers and students, headmistress Kamla Korva noticed smell of some medicine while eating vegetables and immediately asked the staff not to give it to children, but by then some students had already ate it.

After sometime, the condition of Korva deteriorated. Eighteen children also complained of vomiting and nausea, following which they all were rushed to Batoli community health centre.

"Korva and three other students, Akash, Priyanshu and Satyam, were shifted to Ambikapur medical college hospital last evening while others were discharged after primary treatment at a Community Health Centre," Surguja District Collector Bhim Singh said, adding they all are out of danger.

Irregularities in mid-day meal will not be tolerated and stern action will be taken against those found guilty, he said.

Sonbhadra Self Help Group was tasked with cooking the mid-day meal at the school.

Local officials claimed that the smell in the vegetables could be due to excess spraying of pesticide, but only a probe can confirm it. On August 27, at least 60 students of a government primary school at Sundarpur village in Surguja district fell ill allegedly after consuming mid-day meal.

PTI