Apr 4, 2015

Food from temple lands 300 in hosp

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a suspected case of food poisoning reported at Vembayam outside the city, around 300 persons, including women and children, were admitted to various hospitals in the district.
All the affected had had the 'annadana sadya' served at Madan Nada Siva Bhadrakali Temple at Thekkada near Vembayam under Vattappara police station limits on Wednesday afternoon.
Those affected reportedly told doctors that they experienced nausea, diarrhoea and body pain by Wednesday evening after visiting the temple. They first sought treatment at the community health centre nearby at Kanyakulangara and at Nedumangad district hospital.
As many as 87 persons were brought to the medical college hospital in the city on Thursday after their condition worsened.
This included 54 women, 17 men and 16 children. More people were shifted to the medical college during the night. Hospital sources said the condition of the patients was not critical.
According to local police, the annual festival of Siva Bhadrakali Temple was going on for the past four days and they organized an 'annadana sadya' on festival days.
On Wednesday, nearly 3,000 people reportedly ate the food served at the temple. Following the incident, temple authorities cancelled the 'annadanam' scheduled for Thursday.
Food safety officials said they collected samples of dishes available at the temple on Thursday. The food that was served comprised boiled rice and traditional dishes including avial, sambar and pulisseri.
The food was prepared on the temple premises. Water samples were also collected from the tank on the premises since several people were given the water after a procession at 8pm. The samples have been sent for detailed analysis.
Temple trust authorities said the water might have caused the food poisoning. Health minister V S Sivakumar visited the persons who were hospitalized on Thursday afternoon.

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