A day after 16 primary school students fell ill at Bambela village in Jhalod following consumption of the mid-day meal,health officials failed to submit the food samples at any of the laboratories in Vadodara for testing on Wednesday. According to health officials,when they brought the samples to Vadodara,none of the laboratories accepted it for further testing. Out representatives first took it to the Vadodara Public Health Laboratory where they said they test only water samples. We then approached the food and drug laboratory,which also refused on the ground of submitting more details, said Dr Chandrasinh Machhad,Block Health Officer,Jhalod. We finally took it to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL),which refused to take the samples because no police complaint was filed in the matter, he added. He further said that their representatives would return now and they will ask the higher-ups to take up the matter to get the samples tested. Jhalod Mamlatdar Yuvraj Jadeja said the students started vomiting after consuming the food (khichdi) provided to them in the afternoon. We could not find any problem in the food. We suspect that the water used from a nearby well for cooking could be the reason behind the problem, Jadeja said,adding that the school supervisor has been suspended.
