Mathura: Over 120 Hospitalised After Food Poisoning on Janmashtami, Vendors Booked

Mathura: More than 120 people, including women and children, were hospitalised due to food poisoning after consuming items made from buckwheat flour, officials said on Tuesday.

A team from the District Food and Drug Administration raided and sealed the shops of two vendors supplying the contaminated buckwheat flour, they said, adding a case has been registered against them.

The incident was reported from several villages in the Farah police station area of Mathura district last night. All victims are stable, the officials said.

The affected individuals -- who were fasting on the occasion of Janmashtami -- experienced symptoms such as vomiting, dizziness and shivering after eating 'puris' and 'pakodas' containing the flour.

"We had fritters made from buckwheat flour last night. After that, I started vomiting and felt a burning sensation in my stomach," Priyanka, a teenager admitted to the government hospital, told PTI Videos.

Pritam Singh, a resident of Parkham village accompanying a patient, said that after consuming the fritters, people complained of dizziness and vomiting.

"The buckwheat flour was purchased from a local shop in the village," he added.

Mahesh, another resident, told PTI Videos, "My wife has become very weak, almost unconscious." Dr Bhudev Prasad, in-charge of the Rapid Response Team of the Health Department, said that complaints of food poisoning were received from several villages in the Farah police station area during the night.

"Teams from the Health Department, Farah Community Health Centre (CHC), and District Hospital responded swiftly. Initially, patients were treated at the CHC, but as numbers increased, they were moved to the District Hospital, the 100-bed Joint Hospital in Vrindavan, and SN Medical College in Agra," he said.

On Tuesday morning, Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Ajay Kumar Verma said more than 60 people have been admitted to various hospitals while later in the day he revised the number of patients to over 120.

The CMO said 43 patients have been admitted to the SN Medical College Hospital in Agra, 29 to the District Hospital in Mathura, 15 to the 100-bed Combined Hospital, 15 to Baba Jaigurudev Charitable Hospital, 10 to Chauhan Hospital and others have been admitted to the CHC in Farah.

"Patients showing improvement today will be discharged," he added.

Dr Verma noted that from 10 pm on Monday, people in Farah villages who were observing Janmashtami fast, began complaining of stomachache, vomiting, and diarrhoea. Initially, they were treated locally while severe cases were transferred to the CHC and hospitals in Agra.

The affected individuals are from Parkham, Baroda, Mirzapur, Makhdoom, and Khairat villages. They had purchased the buckwheat flour from two suppliers, Jhagdu and Rajkumar, who had sourced their goods from major grocery merchants in Farah.

Following the incident, District Magistrate Shailendra Kumar Singh instructed the District Food and Drug Administration to raid and seal the suppliers' shops. Police are searching for the accused shopkeepers.

The DM stated that the Food and Drugs Department is continuing legal action and collecting samples from shops in the area. He added that all victims are stable and receiving ongoing treatment. 

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