Odisha: Student dies, over 100 ill after eating allegedly contaminated food at state-run school

A Class 5 student on Tuesday died and more than 100 fell ill after eating allegedly contaminated or stale food at a government-run Adivasi residential school in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district, ANI reported.

On Tuesday, the students of the Kakabandha Ashram School in the district’s Rasgovindpur block on Sunday complained of discomfort and fell ill after eating a meal that included fermented rice or “pakhala”, mashed potatoes and mango chutney, The New Indian Express reported.

The dishes were “not mentioned in the authorised menu”, PTI quoted unidentified officials as having claimed.