KURNOOL: As many as 40 students of a Mandal Parishad upper primary school fell sick after reportedly eating mid-day meal on Tuesday. The school is located at Chakrala village in Pathikonda mandal of Kurnool district.All the students were immediately admitted to the Pathikonda government hospital, where the condition of five was stated to be critical.
According to reports, the authorised agency served mid-day meal to the students as usual in the afternoon. Out of the total strength of 220, 160 students had their lunch at the school. Later, they developed stomach ache, vomiting and motions. On learning about the incident, DEO V Ranga Reddy visited the school and hospital to enquire about the incident.
The DEO told TNIE that a special committee was formed for an inquiry into the matter on the directions of District Collector P Koteswara Rao. Samples of water and food were collected for lab testing. Show-cause notices were issued to the school headmaster and the mid-day meal agency seeking their response on the incident within 24 hours, the DEO added.