Thirty-one students of a minority residential school in Telangana’s Komaram Bheem Asifabad district complained of stomach ache and vomiting after they had dinner at their school hostel on Monday. The government-run minority residential hostel for boys is in Kagaznagar town. The District Medical Health Officer (DMHO), Prabhakar Reddy said the condition of the students was stable. He ordered an inquiry into the incident. Around 30 students were taken to hospital. According to the students, they were served dal, potato curry and rice for dinner.
As word spread about the incident, local media persons reached the school but the staff did not allow them to enter the premises. The staff tried to shift the students from the rear door. Later, police reached there and shifted the affected students to the hospital in their vehicles.
Speaking to the media, one of the students said, “We complained to the warden that there were worms in the rice. He said nothing would happen.” Another student said when a student complained to the warden about the worms in the rice, the warden took out the worms, put it aside and then handed back the plate to the student to eat.” Students allege that the rice served to them is often not even cleaned properly before cooking.
Another senior student at the hostel demanded that the warden be changed immediately. “Despite complaining to the principal, no action has been taken against the hostel warden. Only if the warden is changed will the issue with bad quality food be solved. Isn’t it his responsibility to ensure good quality food is served? Worms were found in the rice.“
Students said that they had complained to the principal about insects found in the food served to them, but no action was taken.
This is the latest in a series of incidents of food poisoning at government-run residential educational institutions in the state. A recent study by an NGO revealed that 1,100 students in government-run schools in the state suffered food poisoning in 2022.