Adilabad:Use of contaminated water in preparing food in schools and hostels has led to various incidents of food poisoning during the monsoon last year in the erstwhile Adilabad district.Parents of the victims charge that a lack of supervision by officials and neglect by staff resulted in the food poisoning incidents.Significantly, government hostels, whether in interior or accessible areas, use water supplied under Mission Bhagiratha for various purposes, including for preparing food. In some hostels, staff use water from the borewells in the hostel campus. In some other hostels, water is purchased from private parties for preparation of food or for drinking purposes.There are allegations that mandal educational officials have not yet inspected government hostels or schools after they reopened this year. Parents fear lack of supervision in preparation of the mid-day meals for schools or meals served in government hostels could lead to cases of food poisoning this year too.On Monday, five students of the Minority Residential School had fallen sick after eating snacks and had to be treated in a government hospital on Monday. This apart, no food poisoning incidents have yet taken place in the erstwhile Adilabad district areas so far this year.Department of School Education has imposed some restrictions on eating food items purchased from outside.Incidentally, as many as 40 girls of Tribal Ashram School for Girls fell sick due to alleged food poisoning in the Wankidi in Komaram Bheem Asifabad district in December last year. One among them, Shailaja, died while undergoing treatment at NIMS, Hyderabad.Later, four students of the same hostel again fell sick due to alleged food poisoning.Interestingly, district collectors of Komaram Bheem Asifabad and Adilabad had stayed overnight in the hostels twice in their respective districts on the directions of the state government last year.Parents are demanding increased vigilance to prevent such cases this year
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