Out of them, 12 girls with serious health complications were referred to the MGM hospital in Warangal for better treatment.
Seriously ill girls were first shifted to Wardhannapet Community Health Centre for medical attention from where 12 were referred to MGM Hospital in Warangal. (Supplied)
As many as 33 girl students fell ill after eating contaminated food — apparently by the presence of a dead lizard — at the government-run Girijan Ashram Girls High School hostel in Telangana’s Warangal district in the evening on Monday, 5 September.
According to a police senior officer from Warangal, around 192 students are enrolled at the Girijan Ashram Girls High School in Wardhannapet.
“Out of the 192 students,150 students took their dinner around Monday evening. After an hour, the girls complained of severe stomach ache and vomiting,” the officer said.
He added that the school officials, with help of local residents, shifted the girls to the Wardhannapet Community Health Centre for medical attention.
According to the state health officials, a total of 33 girls were admitted to the healthcare centre.
A doctor at the hospital, not willing to be named, said, “Out of the 33, 12 girls with serious health complications have been referred to the MGM hospital in Warangal for better treatment.”
The parents of the students told reporters at the hospital that one of the students saw a dead lizard in the food served.
“The students reported the matter to the cooking master and soon the serving of meals was stopped,” said one of the parents waiting outside the Wardhannapet Community Health Centre.
Warangal District Medical and Health Officer Dr Venkata Ramana told South First, “At the moment we cannot pinpoint the exact cause of the food poisoning, but it definitely has to do with the food or water.”
He added: “Parents of the girls are stating that a lizard was found in the food. Whether a lizard was found or not will only be clear after an inquiry.”
Telangana Health Minister T Harish Rao, Rural Development Minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao, and Tribal Affairs Minister Satyavathy Rathod called MGM Hospital Superintendent Dr V Chandrasekhar and asked about the health status of the students.
The ministers suggested that the MGM Hospital superintendent refer all students to Nizam’s Institute of Medical Science in Hyderabad.
The state education department has ordered a probe into the incident.
A senior officer of the Education Department said, “Stringent action will be taken against all found responsible in the incident.”
According to government records, around 236 students suffered from serious ailments due to food poisoning in different incidents across 10 schools in Telangana in August alone.
The incidents were reported from the Adilabad, Asifabad, Mancherial, Karimnagar, Rajanna Sircilla, Sangarreddy, Vikarabad, Kamareddy, and Nalgonda districts.
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