2 children die, 56 villagers fall ill after consuming kheer in MP’s Tikamgarh

An infant was among the two children who died on Monday after the feast. Officials said 56 people turned up at the medical camp that was organised by the district’s medical team

Published on: Nov 2, 2022, 21:41:16 IST

By Shruti Tomar

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Two children including an infant died and more than 50 people fell ill after eating kheer, or sweet rice pudding, at a mass feast in a Madhya Pradesh village in Tikamgarh district 250km from state capital Bhopal, officials said on Wednesday.

Twelve people were referred to the Tikamgarh district hospital (Photo courtesy: Nihal)

Officials said the feast was organised on Sunday and people started falling ill the following day. Tikamgarh chief medical and health officer PK Mahor said the district authorities learnt of the incident from the designated Asha worker only on Tuesday.

A medical camp manned by three doctors was set up on Wednesday to treat the villagers and 12 of the 56 villagers who turned up were referred to the Tikamgarh district hospital, said block medical officer Prashant Jain.

Jain added said Jayanti, a nine-month-old infant who was already unwell and was given a bit of the kheer, died due to dehydration on Monday. Another 9-year-old girl, Priyanka also died after her condition deteriorated.

A representative of sarpanch Pushpendra Jain said, “At least 600 people consumed the kheer on Sunday afternoon at a religious programme. Later in the day, kheer was also distributed in different areas. Sixty people fell ill after consuming it and the doctors treated them.

“The villagers don’t want any police case in the matter because the programme was collectively organised by them,” he added.

Tikamgarh collector Subhash Kumar Dwivedi has ordered an inquiry into the case.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shruti Tomar
I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More

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