Indian Express 11.12.2010
8 civic students in hospital after drinking milk provided by school
As many as eight students of Sainath Nagar Municipal School, Ghatkopar, were hospitalised on Friday after they complained of vomiting and stomach pain soon after drinking flavoured milk provided by the school. The students, in the age group of 11-14 years, were admitted to Rajawadi Municipal Hospital. The milk that they drank had been certified by the Belapur Public Health Laboratory and the BMC laboratory in Dadar.
“Though the school reopened on November 22, the milk supply resumed only today. The milk was consumed by 34 students at 9 am. Eight students complained of severe stomach ache and some vomited,” said Deputy Education Officer Mirza Beg. The supplier had attached certificates from the public health laboratory and the BMC lab on the batch of tetrapacks that was brought to the school on Thursday. Milk supply to the school was stopped following Friday’s incident, Beg said.
Hospital authorities said the students were out of danger. Flavoured tetrapack milk is supplied to all civic schools by Warana on a contract of Rs 100 crore for one academic year. Additional Municipal Commissioner in charge of education, MM Adtani, said he had sought a list of city laboratories approved by the Food and Drug Administration. “After we get the list, we will make it compulsory for the supplier to attach certificates from any two of these approved labs and only then will they be allowed to resume supply,” said Adtani.
A BMC team will visit Warana’s manufacturing unit in Kolhapur. “If the milk is not found up to the mark, we will terminate the contract. We cannot jeopardise the health of more than 4 lakh students who study in municipal schools,” said an education official.
Around 200 ml of elaichi-flavoured tetrapacked milk is provided to civic students everyday along with khichadi. There is no regulatory body to monitor the quality of Khichadi served by private suppliers.
