21 tribal students in Odisha school taken ill after mid-day meal

More than 40 students of Bramhanmara ashram school in Morada block felt uneasy after having mid-day meal, and 21 were admitted to a hospital in Baripada.

At least 21 students of a tribal residential school in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district were admitted to a hospital in Baripada town on Tuesday after consuming mid-day meal.

Many students fell ill after taking mid-day meal at a school in Odisha. (HT file photo / representative)

Officials said more than 40 students of Bramhanmara ashram school in Morada block felt uneasy after having mid-day meal. Some of them mixed the rice with water and had taken it again later in the afternoon. Soon many of them started vomiting and had to be hospitalised in the local health centre.

As the health of 21 of them worsened, they were admitted to Pandit Raghunath Murmu Medical College and Hospital in Baripada town late Tuesday evening.

Doctors at the hospital, however, said the students were out of danger.

Last month, more than 160 students of various schools in Kalahandi and Gajapati districts fell ill after eating mid-day meal.

In August, over 100 students of a primary school in Khurda district started vomiting after they were served with poor quality eggs in their mid-day meal. In July, students in a school in MV-29 area of Malkangiri district complained of being served weevil-infested rice and rotten vegetables.