37 kids fall sick after eating mid-day meal at Mumbai school

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said a committee will investigate the matter

In what could be yet another case of food poisoning due to mid-day meals, 37 children from a Jogeshwari civic school fell ill on Wednesday immediately after consuming khichdi.

Two of the students from Balvikas Vidya Mandir at the hospital. (Satyabrata Tripathy/HT Photo)

Doctors from the hospital said till late evening, 21 children from Balvikas Vidya Mandir school, Jogeshwari, were discharged, while the rest were still being treated at Konkan Hospital for vomiting, stomach ache and burning sensation in the stomach. Around 10.30am, a few of the children began complaining about a burning sensation in stomach and said they felt nauseous after eating the mid-day meal.

More students began complaining as time went on, after which they were all immediately rushed to a hospital.

“I was at work and got a call from my wife that my son had been admitted in a hospital. The school has been serving the khichdi, consisting of rice, pulses and soya beans, for the past five years. This is the first time the children have complained,” said Pandurang Lad, father of Rudra, who studies in Class 5.

Mahesh Palkar, education officer of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), said a committee has been constituted to investigate the matter. “We don’t know if the incident took place owing to the khichdi because more than 450 children consumed it and only 37 reported ailments.”

Milind Khetle, assistant police commissioner of Meghwadi Division, along with food and safety officials from the Food and Drugs Administration, Maharashtra, visited the spot and collected the food samples for further analysis. Action will be taken on the basis of the food analysis reports.