Toxic food kills boy, affects 680 in Indian state
Date: 21-Aug-01
Country: INDIA
Author: Biswajyoti Das
"The boy died on the weekend on the way to hospital after he consumed soaked gram distributed at a puja (religious ceremony)," B. Kalyan Chakraborty, a civil servant in Nalbari district, told Reuters by telephone.
Gram is a pulse used in India to make flour, or is soaked until soft and eaten with salt.
The victims were suffering from high fever and nausea, he said. Twelve of the 30 people taken ill on the weekend were hospitalised.
They all had eaten food at a religious ceremony at Nalbari, 70 km (45 miles) west of Dispur, the capital of the northeastern state.
Another 150 people fell ill at Borbar, about 80 km (50 miles) west of Dispur, where food was distributed at a function to observe India's Independence Day on August 15.
On August 10, about 500 people were sick after eating food at a government-sponsored peace rally in Barpeta, about 140 km (88 miles) west of Dispur. Mostly women and children have been affected by the food-poisoning.
The authorities in Assam banned the sale of gram on Friday and said the order would remain in force until samples collected from the market were tested in a laboratory.
HIGH COURT ORDER
Assam's health minister on Saturday said some chemically treated gram seeds were sold in local markets and those who had eaten them had become sick.
A court has asked the Assam government to submit a report on the incidents, said Manjushree Pathak, a lawyer who has filed a public-interest suit.
"The Guwahati High Court has admitted a public-interest case on the incidents of food poisoning and sought a detailed report within a week from the Assam government," she told Reuters.
The court had asked the authorities to oversee the welfare of the hospitalised patients, she said.
A team of doctors sent by the Federal Health Ministry in Delhi was treating the patients alongside local doctors in the affected area, officials said.
Meanwhile, a Hindu religious committee in Assam decided not to distribute soaked gram during pujas, and instead a mixture of rice, ginger and coconut would be served after prayers.
