TEAM HERALD
PERNEM: Exactly a month after 86 students took ill after eating mid-day meals in a Canacona school, 19 students of a school in Korgao-Pernem fell ill shortly after their mid-day meals on Saturday morning.
This is the third such incident in the State within a month where students have complained of uneasiness after eating their mid-day meals.
According to school sources, students of Std V at Kamleshwar High School in Devulwado-Korgao were the first to complain of uneasiness shortly after they ate the mid-day meal consisting of Pav Bhaji, which was supplied to them during interval.
Within a short while, a total of 19 students complained of giddiness, stomach ache and some started vomiting. Realising the seriousness of the incident, the
school staff rushed the ailing students to the Tuem Primary Health Centre by the school bus.
News of the incident quickly spread across the village, prompting anxious parents and guardians to rush to the school to inquire about the schoolchildren.
There were unconfirmed reports that a student had found a spider in the Pav Bhaji, but an unnamed official was quoted in a PTI report as having dismissed the claim as “rumours”.
Tuem Health Officer Dr Chandrakant Parab, Medical Officer Dr Babu Kerkar and other medical staff attended to the affected students and later discharged them after administering first aid.
School Headmaster Dharma Shetye also confirmed to reporters that all students had been discharged from the hospital.
The job of serving the mid-day meal was assigned to an NGO, Brahmanandacharya Self Help Group. The NGO has also been serving the meal to 13 primary schools and eight secondary schools, the officials said.
Ashok Shetye of Pethechawada-Korgao, who had supplied the mid-day meals, was later asked to report to the Pernem police station, where he was questioned in this connection.
Dr Parab later informed reporters that samples of Pav Bhaji have been sent to the Food and Drugs Administration for tests to ascertain if the meals were contaminated.
On hearing the news, Pernem MLA Rajendra Arlekar visited the affected students at the Tuem Primary Health Centre.
Pernem Police is investigating the case to ascertain if the incident had taken place due to food poisoning.
Earlier on June 27, 86 students took ill after consuming contaminated mid-day meals at Shri Mallikarjun Vidyalaya in Char Rasta (Canacona), while on July 19, 23 students complained of uneasiness after eating mid-day meals at the St Joseph High School in Usgao. While the FDA had confirmed contamination in the mid-day meals at the Canacona School, it ruled out contamination in the meals supplied to the Usgao school.
