Chhattisgarh: 60 students taken ill after mid-day meal at school

At least 60 students of a government primary school were taken ill, allegedly after consuming food under the mid-day meal programme at a village in Chhattisgarh’s Surguja district.

The students were admitted to Ambikapur District Hospital with symptoms of food poisoning on Saturday afternoon, Surguja collector Bhim Singh said on Sunday.

The students started vomiting and complained of nausea after eating the meal at the government primary school in Sundarpur village, about five kilometres from Ambikapur town and nearly 350 kilometres from Raipur, he said.

When the teachers and school principal Indraprasad Sarathi noticed the deteriorating condition of the children, they immediately admitted 60 students to Ambikapur, he said.

“The condition of the children was (later) said to be normal and most of them have been discharged this morning,” the collector said. He said that, according to doctors, it appeared that the food served to children at the school was raw, leading to food poisoning.

Food samples were sent for testing and the exact reason behind the incident would be known only after the reports are out, he said, adding that further action will be taken accordingly.