In a case of food poisoning, approximately 80 students from the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Ashram Method Inter College in Mehroona village, Deoria district, fell ill with symptoms of stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhoea, officials reported on Monday.
The incident occurred after the students consumed dinner on Sunday night.
District Magistrate Divya Mittal informed reporters that the students are in stable condition and an investigation into the incident is ongoing.
An official statement released Monday evening confirmed that some students at the government-run school fell ill due to food poisoning.
Two students, Akash and Nitesh, are receiving treatment at Maharishi Devraha Baba Medical College. The remaining students received primary treatment at the school from a team of doctors led by the Chief Medical Officer (CMO).
All students are safe, and a medical team remains at the school as a precautionary measure.
District Magistrate Divya Mittal and Superintendent of Police Sankalp Sharma visited the medical college to check on the affected students.
Mittal reassured reporters that the students’ condition is stable and that action will be taken against those found responsible.
Assistant Commissioner of Food Safety Vinay Kumar Sahay stated that a team from the Food Safety and Drug Administration inspected the school’s kitchen and storage area.
Seven samples, including prepared bread, lentils, vegetables, chili powder, chickpeas, mustard oil, and mixed pickles, were collected in the presence of the school’s director, Rajkumar Gupta. A notice regarding storage and kitchen deficiencies is being issued.
The samples have been sent to a food laboratory for testing, and further action will be taken based on the results, Sahay added.
Sources revealed that the government-run Ashram school has 326 enrolled students from classes six to twelve.
After dinner on Sunday night, some students began experiencing symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach pain, dizziness, and chills.
The school management provided initial medication and advised the students to rest until the morning.
By Monday morning, the number of affected students had risen to around 80.
The affected students were then taken to a hospital.
Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Vipin Kumar Dwivedi and Food Inspector Vinay Kumar Sahay arrived at the scene.
Sahay noted that most of the students suffered from food poisoning, while some were affected by infectious diseases.
The health department team conducted an investigation and found that all students are now in stable condition.
Sources indicated that the students had eaten ‘poori’ and ‘chhola’ the night before. The ‘chhola,’ prepared earlier in the day, was served again with ‘poori’ in the evening, leading to the students’ illnesses.
