ISKCON brushes aside charges, says ailing students ate from roadside stall

Mumbai: An ISCKON centre here, which was booked after over 100 students were taken ill for allegedly consuming midday meal provided by it, on Sunday claimed that many of them had eaten snacks from a roadside stall prior to their regular lunch.

"Our managers were told by the local people that many students ate banana wafers and pickles before having their mid-day meal. They bought it from a stall opposite the school. The Collector has sent the samples of these for investigation," the centre said in a statement.

On February 25, over 100 students of a Zila Parishad-run primary school at Kasa Badruk village in neighbouring Palghar district were admitted to hospital after they suffered health problems on consuming the mid-day meal food supplied by Wada centre of ISKCON.

"294 students were taken to the hospital for examination. 208 students were sent back after examination and preventive treatment. 86 of them were kept under observation. None of the students vomited. No one had loose motions nor was any one dehydrated. The PHC doctors have given treatment to the children as a precautionary measure," the statement said.

Citing a newspaper report, ISKCON said that the quality of water from a nearby well from which the children drank is "very bad" which may have caused the problem.

"From the same Wada kitchen, we prepare meals which are supplied to 25,523 school children in Wada taluka and 19,422 school children in Vikaramgad taluka, a total of 44,945 children every day. On this day too, the same was done," the statement said.