Thirty-seven persons, including 22 children, fell ill after consuming alleged contaminated water and of suspected food poisoning in Yadgir district of Karnataka. Of the 37 persons, 13 are labourers from West Bengal.
The incident occurred on August 26-27 in Chikkanahalli village in Shorapur taluk of Yadgir district.
According to sources, on August 26 night, the labourers started vomiting and suffered from diarrhoea after consuming food. The labourers had come to the village to work in paddy fields. They were staying in makeshift sheds near the government primary school in the village.
The labourers went to the taluk hospital in Shorapur for treatment,
On August 27 morning, 22 children fell ill. They are student of the government primary school in the village. They had consumed water from a handpump borewell, which is suspected of being contaminated, near the school.
Separately, two villagers started vomiting and suffered from diarrhoea after consuming water drawn from the borewell.
On hearing about 22 children falling ill, government medical officials team rushed to the village. The children were administered treatment in the village. Six children were referred to the taluk hospital in Shorapur.
The medical team referred two labourers to the district hospital in Raichur and one to the district hospital in Yadgir for further treatment. The remaining 10 labourers are under treatment in the taluk hospital in Shorapur.
“Except for these 19 persons, the rest were discharged after necessary treatment. All are stable,” Raja Venkatappa Naik, Taluk Health Officer, told The Hindu.
Shorapur MLA Raja Venkatappa Naik visited the village on August 28. He directed officials of the gram panchayat to maintain cleanliness in the village and arrange for potable drinking water.
