Lizard Found In College Food, 65 Students Hospitalised

Quaid-e-Millath Government College for Women's students were rushed to hospital at night after they complained of uneasiness and nausea after having dinner in their hostel mess. It was found that there was a lizard in the idli, served to the children. They were rushed to two hospitals, Government Royapettah Hospital and Gandhi Government General Hospital. A total of 65 students were admitted to these hospitals. Among them, four had diarrhoea said Dr Anand Pratap who is also the GRH resident medical officer (RMO).

"The rest had just anxiety-induced nausea, the symptoms were nausea and head ache and four students had diarrhoeal bouts. Majority of them were suffering from anxiety and panic due to the incident. But they were stable in the morning and hence were discharged" said the doctor.

Even in such precarious solution, the college officials chose to neglect their duty. The children were not even allowed to contact their parents after they fell ill. "We were not allowed to inform our parents and were sent home soon after being discharged. Most of us had to go on our own despite being sick since we were not allowed to stay in the hostel even for the night", said one of the affected students.

This is not the first time that the college has come under suspicion for shady reasons. In 2015, 27 students had need of medical aid after the college fed them stale coconut rice. "Even at the time of inspection, the sanitary conditions in the kitchen were poor. It was infested with cockroaches," said a member of the investigation team. This was vouched by a student, who did not wish to be named. "Students here keep falling ill on and off, but authorities notice only when a lot of us are sick," said a second-year student.

The Food and Safety Department has finally decided to step in this fiasco. "We have collected samples of food and drinking water from the hostel for testing. Further action will be based on the report which is expected within 15 days," said Dr R Kathiravan, Designated Officer, Chennai Food Safety Department.

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