Telangana High Court to hear plea on food poisoning in welfare hostels
Taking into consideration the severity of the situation, the Telangana High Court on Friday directed the
Registry to schedule a PIL for hearing on Tuesday along with a recently filed Interlocutory Application (IA) seeking the intervention of the court into the recent food poisoning cases reported in residential schools and hostels in the State.
In an ongoing PIL demanding the provision of essential facilities for children residing in hostels, petitioner Keethineedi Akhil Sri Guru Tej filed the Interlocutory Application highlighting the situation that unfolded over the past several days in residential schools and hostels for SC/ST students.
During the proceedings, counsel Chikkudu Prabhakar, appearing for the petitioner, requested the court to consider the IA during the lunch motion session. He informed the court that in hostels located in Devaruppula, Morthad and Mannanoor of Nagarkurnool district, contaminated food was provided to the inmates due to which around 300 girls suffered from various health issues, including stomachache, headache, severe fever, and food poisoning.
The gravity of the situation was such that around 150 girls had to be rushed to hospital by lorry and autos
and currently, 10 to 15 girls were in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), counsel said. Taking note of these contentions and the severity of the situation, the court issued directions to the Registry.
SC/ST panel: TS gets 4 more weeks to appoint members
A division bench of the Telangana High Court on Friday granted the State government four more weeks to provide a timeline for the appointment of chairman and members to the Telangana State Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
The bench, comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice NV Shravan Kumar, expressed concern after the special government pleader (SGP), representing the State, requested the court grant an additional 10 weeks. The court’s patience has been tested as, on February 28, 2023, the court issued notices to the chief secretary, principal secretary to the government, Scheduled Castes Development Department, and the secretary of the SC/ST commission, instructing the State to take necessary steps to appoint the chairman and members to the panel. Since then, the State has been repeatedly seeking extensions to fulfil its obligation. The bench was hearing a petition filed by social activist S Ganesh Rao and J Shankar, an unemployed youth from Karimnagar district.