SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, April 20: Around 80 people, mostly children, fell ill after consuming spurious Chaat Masala in a village fair under Karmatand Panchayat, around 7 km away from district headquarters in the late evening of Wednesday.
As their condition deteriorated, victims were admitted to Shahid Nirmal Mahto Medical College Hospital (SNMMCH) at around 10.30 pm on Wednesday.
Dr U K Ojha, HoD medicine department, who was monitoring the treatment of victims, said that 80 villagers, the majority of them are children were admitted at night when the condition of a child was critical.
“ All were complaining of stomach pain and vomiting tendency,” said Dr Ojha.
All the victims belong to Huchuktand village of Karmatand Panchayat. They had eaten Chaat Masala at the Bhokta Fair of the village in the evening. As they returned to their house, they began vomiting and complained of severe pain in their stomachs.
The youngest victim is 9 years old Pinki Kumari while the oldest person is 44 years old Vijay Mahto.
The family members got them admitted to SNMMCH. Some of them are also, reportedly, admitted to nearby private hospitals. As beds in the emergency fell short to adjust such a large number of patients, Dr UK Ojha directed to shift them to vacant beds in the other wards of the hospital.
Doctors and nursing staff were also called in emergency duty at late night to tackle the large numbers of patients coming from the village.
Getting the information, Dhanbad Civil Surgeon Dr Alok Viswakarma and Sadar Hospital deputy superintendent Dr Sanjiv Kumar reached the medical college hospital and offered to shift some patients to Sadar Hospital. Twenty beds were prepared for victims.
The civil surgeon has directed Baliapur CHC to conduct a probe into the food poisoning and submit a report of the victim’s number and the hospitals they are under treatment.
On the directive of the Deputy Commissioner, Balaipur block Circle Officer (CO) Rampravesh reached the medical college hospital and took the details about the treatment of victims from Dr UK Ojha.
