Ujjain food poisoning: Food and drugs dept collects samples, probe ordered

A day after hundreds of villagers fell ill at Roopakhedi village on Ujjain-Makshi road, about 30 kilometres from Ujjain headquarters, district food and drugs department team visited the village and collected samples of food items distributed among the devotees.

Nearly 1,500 villagers fell ill after consuming 'prasad' comprising 'sago khichadi', 'bundi' and 'khoprapak' distributed at village Shiv temple on the occasion of Mahashivratri.

Meanwhile, the condition of all the villagers, including two serious ones, is stable and they were discharged from the hospital.

Speaking to Hindustan Times, Ujjain chief medical and health officer (CMHO) Dr NK Trivedi said all the patients who were admitted to Ujjain district hospital and other health centres in the district were discharged after doctors reported rapid improvement in their health.

District collector Kavindra Kiyawat ordered a probe into the matter. Further action will be taken only after getting sample reports from the laboratory.

On Tuesday night, a large number of devotees, who had assembled at a Shiv temple in the village, were served 'khichadi'. After eating it, many of them started vomiting and complained of uneasiness and dizziness. Soon, a pandemonium broke out as many people complained of vomiting.

Assistant sub-inspector (Kotwali) RP Gehlot said investigation is on to find out if it was a mischief or the callousness of puja organisers.

Ujjain collector Kavindra Kiyawat visited the village and hospital to take stock of the situation.

First Published: Feb 18, 2015 22:02 IST