Over 40 girls from Pune hostel taken ill after dinner, hospitalised

According to the medical staff at MJM hospital, four girls were brought in at 3.30 am as their symptoms were severe, while the remaining 12 were brought in at 5.30 am. “When we enquired about their food, the girls said that they had cluster beans for dinner and no unusual food ingredient was consumed. It is difficult to say whether it was due to an external element, stale food or any other reason at the present moment. But we suspect it is the case of gastroenteritis, which is not a rare occurrence. Their health is improving quickly and all of them are expected to be discharged by tonight or tomorrow morning,” said an official at MJM hospital.

Commenting on the incident, Chintamani Patwardhan, Administrative Officer and Committee member of Sevasadan, said, “We were equally shocked by the incident. The girls had the meal in the afternoon too and were doing fine. There was no new food ingredient added to the dinner. Cluster beans are cooked regularly. Besides this, there was roti, daal and rice.” Patwardhan added that the school is going to set up an inquiry into the matter to find out the cause of the food poisoning, after all the girls are discharged. “We came to the hospital with the girls at 5.30 in the morning and it is our responsibility to make sure that they are in good health. Only after all the girls are discharged, we can set up an inquiry,” said Patwardhan.