Girl Dies, 34 Children Fall Ill from Suspected Food Poisoning at Chhattisgarh School

Bijapur: An eight-year-old girl died and 34 other children fell ill due to suspected food poisoning at a government-aided residential school in Chhattisgarh 's Bijapur district, officials said on Tuesday.

Some students of Mata Rukhmani residential school in Dhanora village complained of uneasiness and vomiting on Sunday (December 8) night following which they were taken to a local hospital on Monday, Bijapur Collector Sambit Mishra said.

Later, 35 ill students were shifted to Bijapur district hospital. All the students had symptoms of vomiting and dysentery, he said.

The condition of two of them deteriorated, following which they were referred to Jagdalpur, headquarters of Bastar district, for further treatment, he said.

Of the two children, a girl identified as Shivani Telam, a student of Class 3, died while being shifted to Jagdalpur on Monday night, he said.

The exact cause of the illness was yet to be ascertained and a probe has been ordered into the matter, Mishra added.

District Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO), Dr B R Pujari, said food poisoning appears to be the cause behind the illness. However, further investigation is underway to ascertain the exact reason behind it.

The condition of other ill children was stated to be out of danger, he added.

As per preliminary information, around 88 children study in the government-aided institute and they had consumed paneer for dinner on Sunday and earlier in the day they had kheer and puri, another official said.

Meanwhile, family members of the deceased girl have blamed the superintendent of the residential school for the incident and demanded action against those found guilty. 

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