At least 80 students of a district school in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district of Maharashtra were hospitalized after eating biscuits given to them as part of a feeding programme.
According to local authorities, children started suffering from nausea and vomiting at Keket Jalgaon village school around 8:30 am on Saturday.
Local officials said the village chief and administrative officials rushed to the school soon after the notification and arranged for the transportation of the affected students.
The students were taken to the nearby rural hospital for treatment and their condition is currently stable.
Around 8.30 am on Saturday, nearly 257 students reported symptoms of food poisoning after eating the biscuits. Of these, 153 were taken to hospital and some were treated and sent home, India Today reported, citing Dr Babasaheb Ghughe, a doctor at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district rural hospital.
Ghughe said seven students who developed severe symptoms were shifted to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Civil Hospital for further treatment.
The school has 296 students and the cause of the food poisoning is currently being investigated.
Earlier this month, more than 80 children staying at the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Ashram School’s hostel in Mehroona village fell ill with stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhoea after consuming school meals, PTI reported.
A student, Shivam Yadav (14), died during treatment at Gorakhpur Medical College. Of the sick children, 60 were treated at Maharshi Devraha Baba Medical College in Deoria.
Later, contractor of a school hostel, Rajesh Kumar Gupta, a resident of Chauri Chaura, Gorakhpur, was arrested near Padrimal Mor on Baikunthpur-Deoria road and sent to jail, Uttar Pradesh Police said.
The school provides free residential education to bright students from financially weaker sections of the society. It is run by the state’s social welfare department. According to an official website, there are currently 94 such schools in the state.
