New Delhi, Sep 3: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear Monday a plea seeking directions to authorities to ensure adequate security at hospitals and medical centres to prevent attacks on doctors and healthcare workers by relatives of patients and others.

A bench of Justices S K Kaul and Abhay S Oka is likely to take up the matter.

The plea filed by the Delhi Medical Association and Dr Satyajit Borah, who is the president of Assam State Branch of Indian Medical Association, also seeks directions to the Centre and states to have a distress fund to grant compensation to the victim or family of the deceased healthcare workers, including doctors and nurses, in such violence.

The petition, filed through advocate Sneha Kalita, says there is an increase in number of such assaults and verbal abuse, and "extreme incidents of public lynching" that have led to the death of doctors or health workers.

"The petitioners are seeking appropriate directions in the form of guidelines to have a security system in place to ensure a safe working environment for the medical service personnel/ professionals and the health care workers'," it had said.

"At present, there is no substantial central legislation which has a holistic mechanism of preventive, punitive and compensatory measures which can address the above-mentioned issues of violence against medical service personnel/professionals and the health care workers," the plea had claimed.

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Saharsa (PTI): More than 150 children were taken ill after allegedly consuming food that was part of the mid-day meal in a school in Bihar’s Saharsa district, a senior official said on Thursday.

The incident occurred at a middle school in Baluaha village of the district.

The official said that 115 children were undergoing treatment at the Sadar Hospital, while around 50 students were admitted to Mahishi Public Health Centre.

“We received information that several children fell ill after consuming the mid-day meal in Baluaha. The children were initially treated at the primary health centre, but later, many were referred to the Sadar Hospital,” Saharsa District Magistrate Deepesh Kumar told reporters.

“According to doctors, the health condition of the children has improved, but they will be kept under observation for some time. There is no need to panic. Some kids are having mild fever. They are being treated accordingly,” Kumar said.

Meanwhile, family members of some children claimed that a snake was found in the container in which cooked pulses was stored at the school.

Of the 545 students present in the school, 200 had already eaten their meals by the time the snake was spotted, and later complained of stomach ache and vomiting, they said.

Regarding the claims, the DM said food samples have been collected from the school.

“We will be able to comment on this only after the results of the tested samples arrive,” he said.