Kendrapara: Over 32 students fell ill Wednesday in a government-run Upper Primary School after consuming mid-day meal in which a caterpillar was found dead.
The incident occurred at Jagannathapur-based Arteswar Upper Primary School. According to Jayanti Panda, in-charge headmaster, the total student strength of the school is 78. However, as it was Shankranti Wednesday, egg curry was prepared for only 37 students while the remaining students preferred vegetarian food.
When the students were eating their meals they found a dead caterpillar in the egg curry. A teacher immediately asked them to stop eating and dumped the food on the school premises.
However, some students experienced vomiting and headache. Following this, all the 37 students, who consumed egg curry, were rushed to the district headquarters hospital.
Three students of the 37 are still under treatment while the remaining students were discharged after primary treatment, said chief district medical officer Niranjan Swain.
Collector Debendra Prasad Das, who visited the hospital to take stock of the situation, said he has directed the district education officer to conduct a probe into the matter and submit a report.
District education officer Sangram Sahu said he would send the block education
officer of Derabish and a staff of the education department to ascertain under what circumstance the caterpillar landed on the curry. PNN
