Hyderabad: Amid rising incidents of food poisoning in Telangana government schools, 12 students were on Thursday, November 7, hospitalised in Mancherial.
Following the incident, the school’s headmaster, D Madhav, was suspended. The students were admitted to a hospital when they had food at the hostel attached to the school. Officials said that the students had a pickle brought from home. The students’ medical condition was said to be stable. Samples of the food consumed by the students were gathered and sent to a laboratory for examination.
Mancherial collector Kumar Deepak visited the hospital and instructed the officials to extend quality medical services to the students. He requested the parents not to panic over the incident. He stated that steps were being taken to prevent food poisoning incidents at the hostels run by the government.
The collector also suspended the District Tribal Welfare Officer (DTWO) Gangaram for negligence and spreading misinformation regarding food poisoning in the government school.
An order issued by the collector said Gangaram was placed under suspension for showing negligence in discharging duties and providing misinformation relating to hospitalisation of 12 students caused by alleged food poisoning that occurred at the school at Saikunta in the district headquarters on Wednesday. He was asked not to leave the district headquarters.
The tribal welfare officer reportedly delayed sharing the information about the incident with district authorities. He then misled higher officials in Hyderabad when they sought information about food poisoning by furnishing false data, causing inconvenience to the district administration.
The students vomited and had diarrhoea after consuming food at the hostel. They were admitted to a hospital, from where they were discharged by evening. Officials claimed they had food with a pickle brought from home resulting in the incident. However, an inquiry was initiated into the incident.
Harish Rao reacts to food poisoning at Mancherial govt school
Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLA T Harish Rao alleged negligence by the Telangana government leading to food poisoning at the state-run school in Mancherial.
Rao alleged that the government hasn’t changed its approach to food poisoning cases in Telangana despite several incidents taking place recently. “It is a shame that the government can’t provide proper treatment to students suffering from food poisoning. A series of food poisoning incidents at various government schools in Telangana are proof of mismanagement by the Telangana government,” Rao said in a post on X.
The Siddipet MLA claimed that 94 students have suffered food poisoning at various government schools in districts including Adilabad, Mancherial and Nirmal. He further blamed the government for the death of two students in Mancherial due to alleged food poisoning.
Taking a dig at the Congress government, the BRS MLA said that it is telling people “don’t go to government hospitals” and “don’t go to government schools”.
Rao urged the Telangana government to provide better treatment to students suffering from food poisoning and to conduct a review of the Gurukul schools. He further urged the government to take measures to prevent food poisoning at state-run schools in the future.
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