At least 60 students of a government school in Sangrur district of Punjab were admitted to the hospital after complaints of stomach ache and vomiting. As per the officials, the health complications emerged after the students had a meal in the hostel mess. Punjab's Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains took note of the matter and said the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) has ordered an inquiry and the food contractor has been arrested.
The incident occurred on Friday when 18 school students of the government meritorious school at Ghabdan reached the civil hospital with complaints of stomach ache and vomiting. The medical staff attended the students and around 14 were discharged on the same day, but on Saturday around 40 students were rushed to the hospital with similar health complications.
The District Commissioner stated that a committee, led by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), has been established to examine the issue. The committee will include a Tehsildar and a Civil Surgeon, and the DC mentioned that the committee is expected to present its findings within a week. The official mentioned that the administration has collected food samples and blood samples of the students for the inquiry.
While talking to the reporters, the students said that they had raised the issue of bad food quality with the school administration, but no action was taken. The parents of the children expressed their anger over school authorities. Harjot Singh Bains released a video message and shared the details about the actions taken in the matter like stationing of a medical team in the school premises.
The minister stated that, as a preventive measure, a collaborative task force comprising representatives from the education and health departments has been assigned the responsibility of gathering food samples from nine additional government meritorious schools across the state.
