100 villagers taken ill after consuming 'contaminated' food

Kolkata: Nearly 100 people were taken ill after they had food at a religious progarmme at Chapra in Nadia on Monday night. It is suspected they fell sick after eating biryani at the event. The incident triggered panic among the villagers in the district.

According to sources, as many as 16 persons are critically ill and they are undergoing treatment at the Shaktinagar Hospital in Krishnanagar. The local MLA Rukbanur Rahman visited the patients at the hospital. The district administration has started a probe into the incident.

They are yet to ascertain the exact cause of the incident. The district officials have already collected samples of the food that was served to the people who joined the event.

Most of the patients started vomiting and had complaint of nausea after they consumed the food.

It was learnt that the people from Pukhuria village of Chapra attended the programme on Monday night. Most of the victims were taken ill after having the food there. Many of them were immediately rushed to the hospital.

Local MLA Rukbanur Rahman spoke to the family members of the victims and later interacted with the doctors to ensure that the patients get the best treatment.

Rahman also assured the family members of the patients that they would not face any problems in availing proper treatment.

The district administration is yet to confirm if the problem triggered from the food or the drinking water at the programme.

They are not ruling out the possibility of people consuming contaminated water during the event.

The reasons will only be confirmed after the food and water will be examined in the laboratory. The samples of food and drinking water have been sent for examination.

A senior official of the health department in the district said it is suspected that the food or the drinking water might have been contaminated. The actual cause of the incident will be determined once the samples are examined in the laboratory, he said.