Jharkhand: At least 50 children fall ill after consuming religious offering at school
The children, all between six and seven years old, ate the offering after Saraswati Puja at the school, and began to vomit.
At least 50 children fell ill in Jharkhand’s Lohardaga district on Sunday after consuming a religious offering. Students of a school in Ita village, aged between six and seven, ate the offering made during Saraswati Puja at the school, and began to vomit, PTI reported quoting civil surgeon Dr Vijay Kumar.
The children fell ill after consuming bundi and were rushed to Sadar Hospital in the area. “All of them are out of danger,” he said. Kumar said the children suffered food poisoning. However, Dr SS Khalid, who works at the hospital, said one or two of the children are in a critical condition, NDTV reported.
“The administration is investigating, we will take action against whoever is found guilty,” Lohardaga District Education Officer Ratan Mahwar said. “We will get the food sample examined to find out the cause.”
People who organised the Puja said the sweets were bought from a local shop and seemed to be fine.
In December, over 100 people took ill after consuming the religious offering served at the Maramma temple in Sulavadi village of Karnataka’s Chamarajanagar. Of these, at least 16 died. The police arrested four people, including Pattada Immadi Mahadevaswamy, a seer at the Mahadeshwara Hill Saluru Mutt.