100 schoolgirls become ill after drinking water held in plastic tank; instructor, warden suspended
The incident took occurred in a residential school in Jharkhand where pupils complained of stomach discomfort, vomiting, dizziness and weakness.
Over 100 girls studying at the Residential Girls’ School in Kharaundhi block of Jharkhand’s Garhwa district became ill after reportedly drinking water from the overhead storage tank. The warden, a teacher and a chef have been suspended.
The event occurred on Friday at Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV), which has 300 girls. About 100 pupils were afflicted and were sent to hospital, the district administration said. Others have been released from the hospital, while six girls were in stable condition and remained under surveillance on Saturday.
Kharaundhi Block Pramukh Abha Rani visited the school and hospital and said that pupils had complained frequently about bad food and limited water amenities. “As a result many girls had to drink hot water stored in the overhead plastic tank during the day’s intense heat,” she added.
Soon the kids started complaining of stomach discomfort, vomiting, dizziness and weakness.
The school management was determined to be negligent prima facie in a district level inquiry. Garhwa Deputy Commissioner Pashupati Nath Mishra told The Indian Express, “We have ordered the warden, a full-time teacher and a cook to be relieved of their duties.
Kharaundhi Block Pramukh Abha Rani further complained that the school premises and kitchen were unclean and meals were not being given as per the stipulated menu. She further stated there was no power supply throughout the day owing to the Muharram celebration and pupils could not access water to drink. “The hostel had a RO system. It was installed in the warden’s room and students were allegedly not allowed to use it,” she added.
The DC also issued a show-cause notice to the Block Education Officer (BEO) and ordered withholding of salary of the officer till further orders questioning as to how routine inspections failed to discover flaws at the residential school. “We have sent samples of both water and food for testing,” the official told Reuters.