16 students fall ill after eating khichdi at school

Mumbai: At least 16 students and a staff member of a private school in Bhandup were hospitalised at civic-run M.T. Agarwal Hospital on Thursday owing to suspected food poisoning, according to civic sources. The Class 7 students and the staff member ate dal khichdi served to them at the Sahyadri Vidyamandir, after which they complained of stomach ache.

The students including 12 girls and four boys and the school staffer were admitted to a hospital in Mulund, are responding to treatment, and will be kept under observation for 24 hours, a doctor attending to them said. The exact cause is yet to be ascertained.

Dr Usha Mohprekar, medical superintendent, M.T. Agarwal Hospital, said, “We got a call from the school authorities that the kids were complaining of nausea and stomach ache following which, our team was ready to assist. We have administered antibiotics to them, and their condition is now stable. They are all out of danger but we have kept them under observation.”

Shivani Patil, one of the parents, said, “Thursday morning, the kids were given rice and dal. But, half an hour after consuming the food, they started vomiting and complaining of stomachache. The kids are suffering due to food poisoning, but at this preliminary level, one cannot identify the exact cause of the poisoning.”

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has collected samples of the food served to the kids for a detailed examination of which, reports are awaited.

A civic official said that food poisoning was suspected to be the cause and added that an inquiry would be conducted into the incident. On August 10, over 426 school students were hospitalised due to suspected poisoning after they consumed iron and deworming tablets given by their school.

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