Bhubaneswar: The Ravenshaw University authorities on Sunday denied reports about diarrhoea or cholera outbreak in its hotel in Odisha’s Cuttack city.
“Incidents of food infection were reported from New PG and Dharmapada hostels of the varsity yesterday. Some among the 27 students admitted to SCB MCH for food poisoning have already been discharged. A medical team is closely monitoring the health conditions of the students,” registrar of Ravenshaw University, Kahnu Charan Malik, said in a statement.
None of the students was admitted to the cholera or diarrhoea ward of the hospital, he said, adding that all measures are being taken to prevent a recurrence.
This incident, ahead of the convocation ceremony to be attended by President Droupadi Murmu on July 15, had raised serious concerns about hygiene and food safety standards in the university with the boarders demanding removal of chief warden and the mess in charge. “There have been issues with drinking water at the hotel. The food being provided is also of low quality and often stale. This has led to food poisoning,” a student earlier told the media.
It was alleged that the boarders had fish curry and rice for lunch and roti and cauliflower curry for dinner on Friday. The same food was sent to Dharmapada Hostel, where some students also fell ill.