Bhubaneswar: Five persons of a village in Odisha’s Koraput district have died of food poisoning while five others have been hospitalised in the last five days after attending a community feast, officials said.
Officials said they suspect food poisoning due to consumption of contaminated water and food. (Representational image)
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On Monday, a man named Khagapati Gouda died in the SLN Medical College and Hospital in Koraput, the 5th person from Odapur village to die of food poisoning in a week. A week ago, a community feast was organised in the village in which many locals participated. Soon, 10 villagers developed symptoms of food poisoning, including acute vomiting.
“We suspect food poisoning due to consumption of contaminated water and food. The officials have been advised to ensure safe drinking water and maintain sanitation in the village. We are conducting round-the-clock surveillance,” said Koraput chief district medical officer Rabi Narayan Mishra.
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.
