Girl dies, 34 kids fall ill due to suspected food poisoning at residential school in Chhattisgarh
Bijapur, Dec 10: An eight-year-old girl died and 34 other children fell ill due to suspected food poisoning at a government-aided residential school in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, officials said on Tuesday.
Some students of Mata Rukhmani residential school in Dhanora village complained of uneasiness and vomiting on Sunday (December 8) night following which they were taken to a local hospital on Monday, Bijapur Collector Sambit Mishra said.
Later, 35 ill students were shifted to Bijapur district hospital. All the students had symptoms of vomiting and dysentery, he said.
The condition of two of them deteriorated, following which they were referred to Jagdalpur, headquarters of Bastar district, for further treatment, he said.
Of the two children, a girl identified as Shivani Telam, a student of Class 3, died while being shifted to Jagdalpur on Monday night, he said.
The exact cause of the illness was yet to be ascertained and a probe has been ordered into the matter, Mishra added.
District Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO), Dr B R Pujari, said food poisoning appears to be the cause behind the illness. However, further investigation is underway to ascertain the exact reason behind it.
The condition of other ill children was stated to be out of danger, he added.
As per preliminary information, around 88 children study in the government-aided institute and they had consumed paneer for dinner on Sunday and earlier in the day they had kheer and puri, another official said.
Meanwhile, family members of the deceased girl have blamed the superintendent of the residential school for the incident and demanded action against those found guilty.
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TVK chief should be given opportunity to prove majority in TN Assembly: Omar
Srinagar (PTI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday said there was no justification for the Tamil Nadu governor to stop TVK leader Vijay from forming the government, and he should be provided an opportunity to prove majority in the assembly.
Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Thursday rejected TVK chief Vijay's claim to form the government, stating that his party lacks the requisite numbers.
The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) has fallen short of meeting a simple majority to form the government in Tamil Nadu. Though the Congress with five MLAs has offered support to TVK, Vijay's party falls short of a simple majority of 118 in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly.
Abdullah said there was no justification for President's rule in Tamil Nadu in view of numerous Supreme Court judgements emphasising on inviting the single largest party to form the government and then prove its majority on the floor of the house.
"If we see the Supreme Court judgement, then there should be no President's rule. There are so many cases in which the SC has clearly stated that after the elections, the single largest party should be invited (for government formation) and they should be allowed to prove their majority in the assembly," Abdullah told reporters here when asked about the political situation in Tamil Nadu.
"It happened when (former prime minister) (A B) Vajpayee formed the government for 13 days, the President of India did not wait for him to show his numbers. The President of India invited him, the government was there for 13 days, but when Vajpayee did not have the numbers, he resigned," he said.
So, if we take the SC judgement, the J-K CM added, then the Tamil Nadu Lok Bhavan "has no justification to stop this process".
"Vijay should be allowed to form the government, and then he should be provided an opportunity to prove his majority and if he proves, he will remain, but if not, then he will have to resign," Abdullah said.
To a question on whether there would be impact of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Jammu and Kashmir, the CM said its impact remains to be seen in the rest of the country first as the assembly elections in the Union territory were not due till 2029.
"As of now it (SIR) has happened in Bengal only. Why are you worried about J-K? The elections are not to take place here till 2029. Let us first see its impact in the rest of the country. What we had to suffer (in J-K), we have. We suffered their delimitation, which was done to benefit the BJP and its friends. Let's see what happens in the future," he said.
On the reported remarks of Leader of Opposition in the J-K assembly, Sunil Sharma, that if the chief minister goes for cabinet expansion, then his party, the National Conference (NC), would suffer like the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra and someone like Eknath Shinde would emerge here as well, Abdullah said all his MLAs stand firmly with the party.
"This tells about the intentions of the BJP. 'Aaya Ram Gaya Ram' (turncoats). Eknath Shinde left because the BJP helped him to leave. It is obvious that the LoP is impatient to hold the chair of the chief minister of J-K. I will only tell him that there is no Eknath Shinde in the National Conference. NC's MLAs stand firmly with the party," he said.
Abdullah said the cabinet expansion is on hold because statehood has not been restored to J-K.
"Cabinet expansion is not on hold because of any fear and that is why I regularly say that the LoP proves through statements like this that till the BJP does not get power, they will not allow us to work smoothly and will not make J-K a state again," he said.
Hitting out at the LoP and the BJP, the J-K CM said the people of J-K, especially those who voted for the BJP in the last elections, should remember that the LoP and his party "indulge in the politics of blackmail and the people here are intimidated in the name of statehood".
