TEAM HERALD
BORIM: One of the two Self Help Groups (SHGs) has refuted allegations of having supplied contaminated mid-day meals causing 23 students of an Usgao school to fall ill on Friday, even as one student was discharged from the Ponda Sub District Hospital on Saturday.
It may be recalled that 23 students from Std 5 and 6 at St Joseph High School in Usgao were rushed to the sub-district hospital on Friday, after they complained of abdominal pain and while 22 of them were discharged after first aid, one student, Mahendra Patkar, was admitted to the hospital for observation.
When contacted, Ponda Sub District Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr M Mohandas said Patkar was subjected to some medical tests. “He has recovered and is completely all right. When he was found fit to join school, the student was discharged in the afternoon,” said Dr Mohandas.
Ponda police is investigating the case and had summoned both the SHGs for questioning on Saturday.
Interestingly, the head of one SHG which supplied the mid-day meal has claimed that one student had complained of abdominal pain even before eating the meal.
Nirmala D Naik, in-charge of Kapileshwari Self Help Group, dismissed charges levelled against them and clarified that they take absolute care while preparing the food.
“We treat these students as our own children. So there is no question of playing with their lives, either while preparing food or handling it,” insisted Naik.
“We supply pulav and Bhaji Pav thrice in a week. On Friday, we served them Pulav, while the other SHG had served them Bhaji Paav. They (students) mixed both the dishes and ate the meals.”
“In fact, even before eating the mid-day meal, one student had complained of abdominal pain and was restless. Parents tend to hold the SHG responsible, without knowing the facts.”
“We are in this service since the past seven years and there has been no complaint against us. Besides, the FDA had also checked our kitchen barely a week ago and it was found neat and clean,” Naik added.
Efforts were made to Teja Shinkre, in-charge of Shivbaba Self Help Group, but Shinkre was reluctant to give her clarification. “I am busy at this moment and I can’t spare even a minute for clarification,” Teja Shinkre told Herald.
