After nearly 50 students of Hyderabad’s Kasturba Gandhi Degree and PG College for Women fell ill on Friday, November 18, police said that the reason for their illness was a foul smell from garbage that was being moved nearby. However, the incident was earlier suspected to have been caused by a gas leak in the college’s chemistry laboratory. Many students had complained of breathlessness and fainting spells on Friday afternoon, and some of them had said that the symptoms began after a chemical reaction in the lab located on the ground floor of the college building.
“Some students were having their lunch on the second floor when suddenly some foul smell started to spread in the rooms. Around 50 students complained of breathlessness, sore throat and a vomiting sensation,” a statement from North Zone Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Chandana Deepthi said. Police found that the reason for the foul smell was garbage being lifted nearby, she said, adding that no complaints were received as of Friday, and all the students were safe.
However, when TNM visited the college in West Marredpally and the nearby Geetha Nursing Home where some of the students were admitted on Friday, no one from outside the college had visited the hospital with similar complaints. Students reported symptoms of breathlessness, fainting spells and convulsions, and a few of them were admitted to the hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU). Some of the students said that it was after a chemical reaction during an experiment in the chemistry lab that many of them began complaining of breathlessness, loss of taste and smell, convulsions, and vomiting.
While there is a refuse dump adjoining the college wall, Narsing, who runs an ironing service nearby told TNM that the garbage was lifted in his presence, but it didn’t affect him. He said that he did not feel a strong odour, and it was only after he left for home that the students complained of sickness and came out of the college. Two more shopkeepers nearby – SK Khan who runs a photocopy business and another person who did not wish to be named – also said that they were unaffected by the garbage.
The college management has allegedly dissuaded the students from sharing details of the incident online. A parent of one of the students who was badly affected shared a voice note with TNM, which is purported to have been sent by the principal of the college to students. In it, a woman is heard asking the students to not post anything about “today’s incident in the college” on any WhatsApp groups or statuses, and to take down any such status posts.