New Delhi: A private hostel in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, witnessed a food poisoning outbreak that sent 76 students to the hospital after they had dinner for Mahashivratri fast, police said on Saturday. The students, who study at various colleges, ate the dinner on Friday and soon felt uneasy, dizzy and nauseous, police said. The students lived at Aryan Residency in the Knowledge Park area – a centre of education – and had ‘puris’ made of ‘kuttu ka atta’ (buckwheat flour) for Mahashivratri on Friday.
“The local police are investigating the incident that occurred on Friday evening when around 76 students ate their dinner and then suffered from stomach problems. All the students were taken to different hospitals and they are now stable,” police said in a statement.
The incident did not cause any law and order trouble and the matter is being looked into, it added. Meanwhile, a team of the local food safety department arrived at the site for a check. “The team will take samples of food items and raw materials used to make the dinner. The samples will be tested and legal actions will be taken accordingly,” an official told PTI.
Students said they had dinner that was prepared specially for them because of their fast. “We ate dinner at around 9.30 pm. I felt dizzy by 10.30 pm and then fell asleep. Some friends then saw that many students were feeling dizzy, uneasy, vomiting,” said Piyush, a student recovering at a private hospital.
“I started shaking around midnight and I felt feverish and dizzy. Two of my roommates and I were then rushed to the emergency department here. Some others in my hostel were also vomiting,” another student Kushal told reporters at the Kailash Hospital.