HYDERABAD: Thirty-one students at a residential school for minorities in the Kumaram Bheem Asifabad district have fallen ill in yet another episode of food poisoning in Telangana's government-run schools.

After Monday's dinner, the boys' residential school students in Kagaznagar town complained of nausea and vomiting. As news of the tragedy spread, local media persons arrived at the school, but the staff forbade them from entering. The personnel made an effort to remove the pupils from the back door. Once the police arrived, they drove the injured students to the hospital.

According to District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO) Prabhakar Reddy, the students' health is stable. He requested an investigation into what happened. Officials said, it appears that the lack of employees prevented the rice from being rinsed before cooking.

Students claimed that despite their complaints to the principal regarding insects detected in their food, nothing was done. This episode of food poisoning is the latest in a string that has occurred at state-run residential educational facilities.

According to a recent NGO research, the government-run school had 1,100 cases of food poisoning in 2022.
Lizards, frogs, earthworms, and insects were found in the food provided to students, said Kota Neelima, head of the Institute of Perception Studies. Vijay Gopal, an anti-corruption crusader, said there is a conspiracy behind the string of events.

"With so many instances, occurrences, and other things, is it really still just accidents? Are we providing c grade food and services at government schools so that everyone can transfer to the private sector? Is this some sort of tactic?",  tweeted Vijay Gopal, who tagged education minister P. Sabitha Indra Reddy.

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