51 hospitalised after eating ‘prasad’ at a fair in Belagavi

Five of the severely critical people were rushed to a government hospital in Dharwad, while the others were treated in government hospitals in Savadatti and Belagavi.

A total of 51 people, including women and children, were hospitalised after allegedly consuming the offering at the annual fair in Hulikatti village, Savadatti taluk, on Tuesday night, the district health officer said.

More than 500 bhaktas had food, they were not infected and only those who ate mango rasayana in their relatives’ homes were infected, said Vishwas Vaidya, Savadatti Congress MLA (Getty Images)

Five of the severely critical people were rushed to a government hospital in Dharwad, while the others were treated in government hospitals in Savadatti and Belagavi, said Belagavi district health officer (DHO) Dr Appasaheb Koni.

Koni said that the health department, upon being informed, quickly dispatched medical teams with necessary medications and set up temporary tent clinics. Most of the affected individuals were women and children.

He said: “Our teams are checking everyone who had mahaprasad as a meal in the jatra, and are giving IV fluids to those who seem weak. All the infected, including those seriously undergoing treatment in Dharwad, are recovering and are out of danger,” he said.

He added that the temporary clinics in Hulikatti will remain operational around the clock until all the infected are declared healthy.

The annual fair in Hulikatti village began about a week ago, with mahaprasad being served daily to devotees. However, on Tuesday night, attendees began experiencing vomiting and diarrhoea after dinner. The health department has sent samples of all the dishes, including drinking water, to a government laboratory in Bengaluru to determine the cause of the illness. No case has been filed by the police.

The Hulikatti Jatra committee organised the Bhireshwar and Karemma Devi annual fair, serving food known as “mahaprasad”, which included white rice, chilli curry, and mixed vegetables. HT reached out to the Hulikatti Jatra committee, but they were unavailable for comment.

Stating that such an incident never occurred in last five decades since when the fair commenced, Belagavi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) media coordinator Hanumant Kongali said that government must taste the cooked food before serving to the devotees and take serious action against those cooking the food.

Northern range of Karnataka celebrates hundreds of jatras from December to May, where thousands eat food served, mainly non-vegetarian eateries. Kongali said, adding that the incident occurred in Savadatti must not be taken seriously and the fair organising committee should not be booked as the infected were not due to food served in the fair, but might have had the mango rasayana that they ate in their relatives houses.

Savadatti Congress legislator Vishwas Vaidya, who assisted in admitting the affected individuals to hospitals, suggested that the illness was not due to the food served at the fair, but rather from mango rasayana consumed at relatives’ homes. “Just like the other days, the jatra committee cooked the food with the same care on Tuesday night. More than 500 bhaktas had food, they were not infected and only those who ate mango rasayana in their relatives’ homes were infected,” MLA Vaidya said.

The incident comes a day after a 22-year-old youth died and 48 people fell sick after consuming contaminated water at K Salundi village on the outskirts of Mysuru, the home district of chief minister Siddaramaiah.