95 students fall ill after hostel dinner in MP

At least 95 hostellers of Navoday School in a Madhya Pradesh village briefly fell ill after allegedly consuming a stale dessert served at dinner, health officials said on Thursday.

At least 95 hostellers of Navodaya School in a Madhya Pradesh village briefly fell ill after allegedly consuming a stale dessert served at dinner, health officials said on Thursday.

The students, aged between five and 15, were immediately rushed to a community health centre after they complained of a stomach ache, officials said. All of them were released after treatment, chief medical and health officer DB Mangnani said.

The residential school, linked to Delhi-based Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti, is located in Kachnari village of Rajgarh district, about 141 kilometres from Bhopal.

Mangnani said the situation was timely handled by a team of 10 doctors who were called in from neighbouring Khujner and Pachor towns of the district.

He said it was too early to point out the exact cause of the illness. However, a stale milk product supplied to the school and served to the hostellers at dinner could be the reason. He said a team of food and drug department officials had collected the food samples and sent them for lab test. The reason would only be known when the report is out, he said.

Meanwhile, a team of doctors visited the hostel, inspected the food products and advised the hostel authorities and the students to follow health and hygiene standards.