The orphanage in Tirupur, where three boys died due to suspected food poisoning after consuming stale food, will be closed immediately, two Tamil Nadu ministers said on Friday, October 7. Social Welfare Minister P Geetha Jeevan and Information and Publicity Minister MP Saminathan visited the hospital where the affected students were admitted and inquired about their condition.
Later, the ministers told reporters that the condition in the orphanage — Sri Vivekananda Sevalayam — was in a bad state and in the aftermath of the incident, the home will be closed immediately. They blamed the authorities in the home for negligence, which led to the death of three boys and affecting 11 others. Action will be taken against those found guilty, they said. Geetha Jeevan said that the state government will take responsibility for the remaining occupants of the orphanage. They would be shifted to another home in Erode district and the conditions of all such orphanages and homes in the state would be reviewed, the ministers said. Fourteen children who were staying at the home were admitted to the hospital and were undergoing treatment after consuming stale food for breakfast on Thursday. The children began feeling dizzy and started vomiting after consuming the food and were admitted to the hospital subsequently. While 11 of them are receiving treatment, three of them died.
Apex child rights body National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) on Thursday asked the Tamil Nadu chief secretary to probe on urgent basis the deaths at the orphanage. It has sought a response from the top official within 48 hours. The NCPCR, in a letter to the Tamil Nadu chief secretary, said the authorities concerned should be given directions for proper and specialised treatment of the children who have been admitted to the hospital. "The Commission thereby requests your good offices to investigate the matter on an urgent basis since there is a grave child rights violation and lapse on the part of the administration of the said orphanage," the NCPCR said.