Guwahati: Seventeen people, including five children, who fell ill after consuming adulterated gram and mung beans at a religious ceremony on Wednesday were admitted to the Guwahati Medical College Hospital (GMCH) and a private hospital here on Sunday.
The condition of two children was said to be serious. They have been moved to the ICU facility at GMCH. The samples of the adulterated items have been collected by the food safety department for further tests and analysis.
The religious ceremony was held at a community temple in Amiyo Nagar locality of the city on July 15.
A few hours after consuming the adulterated religious offering, devotees began to complain of nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhoea. Local residents said the affected took medicine but even four days later, the conditions persisted.
"We are investigating the incident. Meanwhile, samples of the adulterated offerings have been collected by the food safety department and are being tested at their laboratory. The patients were admitted on Sunday after their condition worsened," said Ganesh Saikia, joint director (health) Kamrup (Metro) district.
Incidents such as this are common and health experts said people usually tend to ignore the hygiene norms required to be followed during ceremonies held on a mass scale. In March, more than 500 people including women and children fell sick after consuming adulterated prasad at a religious ceremony held in Barpeta district. The prasad claimed three lives including that of a 10-year-old girl.
The shops in the district from where the gram, mung beans and other items were purchased for the ceremony were raided and the remaining portions of the supplies seized by the administration.
No comments:
Post a Comment