Agartala: At least 35 students fell ill after having mid-day meal at an English medium school in the Dhalai district of Tripura on Saturday. According to school authorities, the affected students from Dayaram Karbari Junior Basic English Medium School started having cramps in their stomachs, weakness, vomiting and lose motion and were rushed to a nearby hospital. Among them seven students are presently undergoing treatment at the hospital.
Students from classes I to III had consumed the same meal and did not suffer from any health problems. However, students from class IV and V fell ill soon after having their meal, BJP MLA Sambhu Lal Chakma said. “Initially I was told that the government stock for mid-day meal got over on Saturday. That is why teachers procured lentils from the local market and this could be one of the reasons behind this untoward incident,” he added.
The MLA informed that all students are presently in stable condition and doctors are keeping a close watch on them. “It was instructed from the top level to collect the samples of food served for mid-day meal in the school and send them for testing. Following this, samples of vegetables, cooked 'khichdi' and other food-related items have been collected. They will be stored at the Chief Medical Officer’s office. The samples will be sent to Agartala for testing on Monday. After these tests, the reason behind this mass illness can be ascertained,” Chakma informed.
