T’PURAM/ALAPPUZHA: The health and education departments on Saturday launched separate probes into the incidents in which over 50 students in three districts fell ill allegedly after consuming the midday meal. At least 53 students from two schools in Kayamkulam and Uchakkada in Thiruvananthapuram and an anganwadi at Kalluvathukkal in Kollam sought treatment for food poisoning on Friday and Saturday.
While General Education Minister V Sivankutty directed department’s director K Jeevan Babu to conduct a probe and file a report, Health Minister Veena George tasked food safety commissioner V R Vinod with the investigation. The women and child development department director will probe the incident at the anganwadi.
On Friday and Saturday, 18 students of Kayamkulam Town UP School got admitted to the taluk hospital with vomiting, diarrhoea and dehydration. Most of them were given medicines and discharged. Doctors said the students’ condition was stable. Following complaints by parents, health officials inspected the school, but did not find anything suspicious.
“The school has 602 students, of whom 593 had the midday meal on Friday. Of them, 18 fell ill. We served rice, sambar and pea roast. Each item was purchased from authorised outlets of government agencies,” said Kayamkulam municipal councillor Nadarsha S. He said the students who fell sick may be those who ate food items from outside.
Health dept officials seal storeroom of anganwadi
Health officials collected food and water samples from the Kayamkulam school as directed by District Medical Officer Jemuna Varghese. At Uchakkada LMSLP School, near Vizhinjam, 375 students out of 420 had the midday meal on Friday. The headmistress said 31 children complained of nausea, fever and headache and sought treatment after 10pm. Four of them were admitted, but were discharged the same night. Health officials, food safety officer and Balaramapuram sub-district education officer visited the school. The storeroom was sealed after samples of rice and chili powder were taken for testing. The sub-district education officer has directed the school suspend academic activities for five days.
Meanwhile, four kids at the anganwadi in Kalluvathukkal complained of nausea and showed symptoms of diarrhoea after having noon meal on Friday. All of them were given treatment and their condition is stable. Following complaints, police visited the anganwadi and sealed the storeroom were rice and pulses were kept.
Sivankutty said he will hold a discussion with food and civil supplies minister G R Anil on Monday to ensure a fool-proof system of supplying good quality rice, pulses and vegetables to all schools. He also directed education department officials and school authorities to pay more attention while preparing lunch in schools.