Maharashtra: 109 girl students hospitalised due to suspected food poisoning in Gadchiroli

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In a case of suspected food poisoning, around 109 girl students were hospitalised as they fell ill after having lunch at their residential school in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra, an official said on Thursday, reported the PTI.

The incident occurred on Wednesday at an 'ashram shala' (residential school for tribal children) located in Sode village in Dhanora taluka in the district, he said, as per the PTI.

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Gadchiroli district's civil surgeon Dr Pramod Khandate said, "On Wednesday, the students were served lunch at the school around 12.30 pm. Some time after having their meal, they started vomiting and also complained of abdominal pain and headache."

"A total of 109 students were admitted to a government hospital. Later, 40 of them were shifted to the general hospital in Gadchiroli, while 69 others are undergoing treatment at the Dhanora rural hospital," he said.

All of them are still hospitalised, Khandate added.

More than 350 girl students study in this ashram school, he said, adding that the samples of food and water have been sent to a laboratory for testing.

Meanwhile, J J Hospital's resident doctors have postponed their strike, demanding the removal of Dr Mahindra Kura, head of the dermatology department, after he was sent on leave for 15 days by the hospital authorities. The strike has now been postponed to December 28. The resident doctors alleged medical negligence and harassment by Dr Kura and were scheduled to be on strike from December 21 until he was removed from the hospital.

In the aftermath of the allegations, a two-member committee was set up, including Dr Ajay Chandanwale, joint director of the directorate of medical education and research, and Dr Vinayak Kale, the dean of Pune's B J Medical College.

Meanwhile, in a statement released to the press, the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) said, "Due to the ongoing appropriate due process, J J MARD has decided to postpone the call to initiate a strike as of December 21. We would like to believe that the committee has conducted a genuine and unbiased interrogation and hope for a decisive report."

(with PTI inputs)