Jatropha feast lands 24 kids in hospital

MOHALI: Their afternoon march home turned painful for 24 school
students who had to be hospitalized after they consumed poisonous seeds of
jatropha plant, on Saturday afternoon near Mullanpur in the district.
The kids, with ages ranging from three to 13, were returning home when
they passed by a jatropha plant near a brick kiln adjoining their
school in Parol village.

Tempted by the prospect of biting into the fruit that looked like
almond, one of the children plucked some seeds. “He was soon followed
by others who had their fill of the innocuous-looking kernels,” said
district health officer Dr SPS Surila.

Hardly a few moments had passed when the kids began vomiting and
complaining of abdominal pains, severe headache and dizziness. “They
were rushed during afternoon hours with symptoms of food poisoning.
Most of them were vomiting blood and had severe stomach pain,” senior
medical officer at Mohali civil hospital Dr HS Sarang said. He added
immediate medical aid was administered by the parents and doctors who
had rushed to the spot. “The kids were made to drink water and then
were taken to a nearby dispensary,” he said. However, sources said
health officials at the district headquarters were alerted only after
one of the teachers came to know about the students’ condition. Mohali
deputy commissioner PS Mand told TOI the students were out of danger.
“But we will check whether they consumed the fruit during school
hours. Responsibility will be fixed only after proper verification as
it would be improper to comment further without verifying details,” he
added.

Gautam, whose younger sister Shaifali was taken ill after eating
jatropha seeds, said, “She began throwing up immediately after
reaching home and we took her to civil hospital.” Sunil, who brother
and sister are also admitted, said they had abdominal pain
and were feeling faint. Lying on a hospital bed, Arti, 8, said she was
tempted by the sweet-tasting seeds.

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