Nearly 40 students hospitalised after consuming mid-day meal at Maharashtra’s Thane school

Thane civic officials on Tuesday said nearly 40 students of a private school in Manisha Nagar area of Kalwa fell ill after consuming food served as part of mid-day meal programme.

All the affected students were immediately rushed to Kalwa Civil Hospital for alleged food poisoning after eating the food served under mid-day meal programme in school.  

The students reportedly consumed 'Khichdi' provided by the school in the afternoon. Soon after the lunch some students complained of giddiness, nausea, headache and several experienced vomiting and pain in the abdomen.

Noticing the symptoms, the students were immediately rushed to the hospital for treatment. Parents were informed by the school management later in the evening.

"...The primary information was that 24 students were having stomach pain. We sent the ambulance immediately. A total of 38 students have been admitted to the hospital...There is a suspicion of food poisoning in the meal of the school...All the students are stable. We will monitor them for 24 hours..." Kalwa Hospital Dean, Anirudh Malgaonkar said.

Children are stable and out of danger, Malgaonkar added. Food samples have been collected for testing, civic officials said.

Earlier in August, 80 students from a district council school in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district were hospitalised after eating biscuits given in a nutritional meal programme.

The children began experiencing nausea and vomiting around 8.30 am on Saturday at the Keket Jalgaon village school, according to local officials. The students were taken to the nearby rural hospital for treatment.

Dr. Babasaheb Ghughe, a medical officer at the rural hospital said that seven students who developed severe symptoms were transferred to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Civil Hospital for further treatment.

Before that, more than 80 children staying in the hostel of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Ashram School in Mehroona village in Uttar Pradesh had fallen ill with symptoms of stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhoea after eating the school meal, PTI reported.

A student, Shivam Yadav (14), died during treatment at Gorakhpur Medical College. Of the children who fell ill, 60 received treatment at Maharshi Devraha Baba Medical College, Deoria.