Palghar : More than 300 students in ashramshalas under the Integrated Tribal Development Project, Dahanu, have been poisoned after consuming dinner. All the injured are being treated at a nearby hospital and their condition is stated to be stable, police said. The Tribal Development Department is running residential ashramshalas for the education of tribal students under the Dahanu and Jawhar Project Office in Palghar district.
There are 37 Ashramshalas and Eklavya Model Schools under Dahanu Project Office in which 8585 residential and 10592 non-residential students are studying and a total of 19177 students are provided with two meals and two snacks daily from the central kitchen at Kambalgaon near Boisar. The central kitchen served a meal consisting of curd, moong dal, chapati and rice for Monday night. More than 300 residential students of 11 ashramshalas, including Ranakol, Khambale, Nanivali, Chawanwadi, Nandore and others, were rushed to nearby government hospitals after they complained of stomach ache, vomiting, nausea and loose motions.
All the injured are being treated at a hospital and their condition is stated to be stable. After the incident of food poisoning came to light, the district health department has appointed health teams at all ashramshalas and is providing treatment to the affected students in the school. District Collector Dr. Govind Bodke himself is taking stock of the situation and project officer Satyam Gandhi visited the ashramshala and the hospital to enquire about the students undergoing treatment.
Food Inspector Umesh Kavale of the Food and Drugs Department and Sub-Inspector Jitendra Ahirrao of the Boisar police station visited the central kitchen at Kambalgaon, where food is being prepared for students in ashramshalas under the Dahanu project, and seized samples of Monday's dinner suspected to be poisoned, and they will be sent to the laboratory for testing.
Under the Dahanu project, students in some ashramshalas have suffered poisoning from the dinner and the students who are suffering are being treated in the hospital and all are out of danger.