21 students fall ill in another food poisoning incident in Telangana

Hyderabad, Nov 26: In yet another incident of food poisoning in a government-run school in Telangana, as many as 21 students were taken ill in Narayanpet district on Tuesday.

The latest incident occurred at Maganoor Zilla Parishad High School.

The students complained of vomiting and diarrhoea after consuming the mid-day meals. They were rushed to the Government Hospital at Maganoor.

This is the second incident at the same school in less than a week. Around 50 students had taken ill after consuming the mid-day meal served to them on November 20.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has taken serious note of the incident and directed the district Collector to conduct an inquiry and take action against those responsible.

School Education director E. V. Narasimha Reddy had suspended the headmaster, Mandal Education Officer and mid-day meals in-charge. The authorities had also cancelled the contract given to an agency for supplying mid-day meals.

However, despite the action taken by the authorities, the school was rocked by another incident of food poisoning.

The state has seen a series of such incidents in recent months in government-run schools, especially residential schools and hostels.

A 16-year-old student of tribal welfare residential school succumbed on Monday, nearly a month after falling critically ill due to food poisoning.

C. Shailaja was one of the 60 students who had taken ill at the residential school at Wankidi in Komaram Bheem Asifabad district on October 30.

The students complained of vomiting and diarrhoea after having dinner at the school. They were all shifted to a nearby government hospital.

As the condition of three female students including ninth-class student Shailaja was critical, they were shifted to Hyderabad and admitted to NIMS. While two students recovered and were subsequently discharged, Shailaja’s condition remained critical and she finally lost the battle for life.

The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has blamed the state government for the death of the student and demanded Rs 50 lakh compensation for her family.

BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao said every month food poisoning in residential schools is claiming the lives of three students.

BRS leader K Kavitha alleged that since the Congress-led government took power in Telangana, 42 students have died from food poisoning in government schools. She blamed the poor quality of meals served in these schools for the tragic deaths.