UP: Over 120 students hospitalised in Farrukhabad, Mainpuri after deworming drive
Farrukhabad/Mainpuri (UP) (PTI): Around 120 students were hospitalised in Farrukhabad and Mainpuri districts after they fell ill during a deworming drive conducted at their schools, officials said.
The children complained of headache and vomiting shortly after being administered Albendazole tablets.
In Farrukhabad, the incident occurred on Tuesday at Jawahar Lal Prema Devi School in Rathora Mohaddinpur village of Kamalganj block.
Out of around 150 students who were given the medication, about 100 complained of discomfort, triggering panic among parents and school authorities.
According to officials, 33 students were taken to the Community Health Centre in Kamalganj, while 67 others were shifted to the Lohia Hospital at the the district headquarters.
District Magistrate Ashutosh Kumar Dwivedi visited Lohia Hospital to monitor the situation and directed doctors to ensure proper treatment.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Avanindra Kumar said the deworming campaign was conducted in schools across the district.
"Students of this particular school complained of headache and vomiting. All are stable and their condition is now normal," Dr Kumar said.
The district magistrate said the tablets were given district-wide, reports of discomfort were limited to this specific school. "All the admitted children are stable. There could be some other reason behind the sudden illness," he added.
In Mainpuri, nearly two dozen students fell ill at a government composite school in Nagla Keeratpur.
Chief Medical Officer Dr R C Gupta said the children were taken to hospital where most of them were discharged after treatment.
The incident occurred on National Deworming Day, observed on February 10 and August 10 each year, for children aged between two and 19.
Dr Gupta told reporters that two children who complained of stomach pain were admitted first. Subsequently, other students arrived with their parents for check-ups, may be due to "anxiety".
"Most of the children are fine. It does not appear to be a case of negligence. The tablets are safe and the symptoms seemed to be due to panic," the doctor said, adding that the drive was conducted under the supervision of administration authorities as part of a district-level drive.
The incident triggered sharp political reactions.
The Samajwadi Party alleged in a post on X that the situation reflected a "medical emergency" in the state and claimed that "fake medicines" were administered.
The Aam Aadmi Party alleged systemic negligence and demanded strict action against those responsible.
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) also sought government intervention, alleging that "expired or substandard" medicines were used and that there medical care was "delayed".
In a statement, ABVP's Braj secretary Anand Kathariya demanded suspension and legal action against those found guilty, a high-level inquiry and safeguards to prevent recurrence.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
