Over 100 students fall ill after eating food at state-run school in Odisha; 1 dead, CM orders probe

BHUBANESWAR/BARIPADA: (Apr 15) Over 100 students fell ill and one of them, a Class 5 student, died on Tuesday, two days after having a meal at a government-run tribal residential school in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district, following which Chief Minister Mohan Charan Mahi ordered a probe, officials said.

Officials said the students of the Kakabandha Ashram School complained of discomfort and fell ill after eating food items "not mentioned in the authorised menu" on Sunday morning. Their parents claimed the children had fermented rice ('pakhala'), mashed potatoes, and mango chutney, following which they suffered from loose motion and vomiting.

More than 100 students were rushed to the local community health centre, and 67 of them were transferred to PMR Medical College and Hospital in Baripada in serious condition, officials noted.