30 PG hostellers fall sick after feast

HYDERABAD: Plans to celebrate Mahasivaratri at the Saifabad PG hostel turned out bad as 30 students ended up in hospital. 12 students are still undergoing treatment while the rest of them were discharged.After having dinner on Saturday night, a few students had fallen sick and complained of stomach pain. Later, they purchased some tablets from a local chemist and consumed it. On Monday morning, the health of 30 students deteriorated as they started vomiting and had loose motion,' said Mallikarjun, a student staying at the hostel. "After finishing lunch today, about 30 students fell sick.We alerted the hostel warden but he did not come to to the hostel. So, we ourselves shifted them to the Fever Hospital in Nallakunta," he added. Mallikarjun said all hostellers had convened a meeting a few days ago and decided to celebrate Mahasivaratri on the premises.The mess staff had served rice, dal, sambar, potato curry and curd and a sweet for lunch.The students undergoing treatment at the hospital are- B Sekhar, Naresh (both PG students) and degree final year students Gadhi Srinivas Reddy, Sivakurma, Santaiah, Lokeswar, Ramesh, Srinivas, Hanumanth, Rajasekhar, Somasekhar and Madhukar.Doctors at the Fever Hospital said that their condition is stable.Meanwhile, Osmania University vice-chancellor Prof S Satyanarayana constituted a committee comprising three members including the chief warden to look into the issue and directed them to submit a report within a week. Satyanarayana visited the hospital on Monday and inquired about the health of the sick students. During his interaction, some students vented anger on hostel warden Dr Nathanil, who is also a professor at the Saifabad PG College.They complained that Nathanil had failed to provide hygienic food to students.Prof Parthasarathi, college principal said they provided hygienic and tasty food every day and it was the first time students fell sick. A team comprising senior food inspectors of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation also visited the hostel on Monday and collected drinking water and food samples served to students on Monday.