Sixtynine students from the Panchayat Union High School in Thandarai, a village located in Tiruvannamalai, fell ill on Saturday, July 15, after consuming lunch prepared on campus to celebrate the 120th birth anniversary of former Chief Minister Kamarajar. According to media reports, a lizard was allegedly found by students in the lunch that was served and is suspected to be the reason behind food contamination.
All the students were kept under observation at the Government Medical College Hospital in Tiruvannamalai. The doctors discharged 67 students and declared that their condition was found to be stable. However, two students who had complaints of dizziness and vomiting were kept under observation on Saturday.
According to school authorities who spoke to The Hindu, the students who ate the food developed symptoms such as vomiting and dizziness following which they were rushed to the hospital. The Chief Educational Officer of the district told the media that an incident report will be filed by the school’s authorities and necessary action will be taken based on it.
Tamil Nadu’s Department of School Education on July 11 had directed all schools to function full-time on Saturday to observe Education Development Day, to mark the birth-anniversary of Kamarajar. All the schools were instructed to hold celebrations and hold competitions such as public speaking, poetry, painting, essay writing, among others.