Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations turned a nightmare for residents of Pulikeshinagar on Wednesday night. As many as 20 children and six adults, took seriously ill with diarrhoea, vomiting and weakness after consuming payasa (a dessert) at the pandal organised by BESCOM.
This comes four months after an incident in April, in which over 70 people from Chamrajpet fell ill on Rama Navami day after having the ‘panaka’ distributed in the Karu Mariamman temple. A six-year-old girl had succumbed to the food poisoning.
When Express visited Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital on Thursday morning, worried relatives camped near the gate in front of the Emergency Ward having spent the whole night there.
Murugamma, whose 13-year-old son Rajkumar ate food at the pandal while she was away at work, said that she would never allow her son to eat at any festivities in the area again. After having the lunch which consisted of pulao, plain rice, sambar, and two sweet dishes including the payasa, Rajkumar began to vomit and had a running stomach.
“By the time I reached home at 6 pm, he was pale and I rushed him to a private hospital. They charged Rs 300 to treat him but there was no improvement in his condition. So, we came to Bowring Hospital,” she said. “We have been participating in this festival at the office for over 10 years. But from now on, I have decided not to send my son to eat there or any other pandal. My son loves sweets, which child doesn’t?” she asked.
Along with Murugamma, many residents spent the night sleeping inside the hospital compound. “Each cup of tea costs Rs 13 and I have lost my wage for the day. The treatment cost has already crossed Rs 500. I have to borrow money to continue it,” said Murugan A, a scrap dealer whose daughter Prema, 3, is admitted.
Mythili, who works at the BESCOM office, took back a lot of food for her family members. The contaminated food caused six people in her family to fall ill.
Dr S Rajanna, Resident Medical Officer at the hospital stated that 15 children aged between two years and 13 years were admitted and five were treated in the outpatient ward and sent back. Of the six adults who were brought to the hospital, four are inpatients.
The BESCOM spokesperson said that the pandal was organised by the BESCOM East division and that lunch was arranged for over 500 people. “Many BESCOM officials, police officers and the superintendent had lunch there, but they are fine. People living in the nearby slum took back leftovers later in the day.” She maintained that consuming the stale food may have caused them to fall ill.
Police at the Pulikeshinagar station have registered a case against BESCOM.