80 Students Fall Ill from Food Poisoning At UP's Mehroona Village School

Approximately 80 students from Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Ashram Method Inter College in Mehroona village experienced symptoms of stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhea after dinner on Sunday night, according to officials on Monday.

District Magistrate Divya Mittal reported that while the students are currently in stable condition, an investigation into the incident is ongoing.

Two students, Akash and Nitesh, are being treated at Maharishi Devraha Baba Medical College, while the rest received initial care from a medical team led by the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at the school. The students are reported to be safe, and a medical team remains on site as a precaution.

Mittal and Superintendent of Police Sankalp Sharma visited the medical college to check on the students and confirmed their stable condition, promising that those responsible will face action.

Assistant Commissioner of Food Safety Vinay Kumar Sahay stated that a Food Safety and Drug Administration team inspected the college's kitchen and storage areas, collecting seven samples including bread, lentils, vegetables, chili powder, chickpeas, mustard oil, and mixed pickles. The samples were gathered in the presence of the school’s director, Rajkumar Gupta, and a notice regarding storage and kitchen issues is being issued. The samples have been sent for laboratory testing, with further actions pending the results.

The government-run Ashram school, which has 326 students from classes six to twelve, saw an increase in affected students to around 80 by Monday morning. Initial symptoms began after students consumed 'poori' and 'chhola' for dinner, with the 'chhola' having been prepared earlier in the day.

Sub-Divisional Magistrate Vipin Kumar Dwivedi and Food Inspector Vipin Kumar Sahay arrived at the scene, with the latter noting that while most students suffered from food poisoning, some were affected by other infectious diseases. The health department has confirmed that all affected students are now in stable condition.