Sundargarh: Four women, who along with 13 others fell critically ill after attending a feast in Odisha’s Sundargarh district, died on Sunday.
The deceased have been identified as Ullas Khadia (40) and Sukanti Khadia (60) of Sunakhain village and Lakhanpur village respectively in Jharsuguda district. The other two deceased women from Sundargarh district are Mangal Sai Nayak of Nuadihi village and Raibari Pradhan (50) from Hemgiri.
According to sources, family and relatives from Nuadihi and Sunakhain villages complained of stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhoea shortly after attending a 10th day post-funeral ritual gathering at Nuadihi village under Hemgir block. Seventeen among them were admitted to Community Health Centres (CHC) at Hemgiri in Sundargarh and Lakhanpur in Jharsuguda, before being shifted to their respective district headquarters hospitals (DHHs) on Friday.
While a man and a child are battling for their lives in the ICU at the Jharsuguda DHH, others are under critical care at Sundargarh DHH.
“Thirteen persons were admitted during the day and four others at night. When I inquired about their condition, I learned that the village where they had eaten before falling ill has no safe drinking water. We suspect the pond water they used for both drinking and washing their hands is contaminated,” Dr Shakti Prasad Rath of Hemgiri CHC told a local news channel.
He added that a team of doctors is visiting both the villages to monitor the situation and identify any additional suspected cases. A joint probe by the police and Health Department is underway to ascertain the exact cause of the suspected food poisoning.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Mukesh Mahaling and MLA Tankadhar Tripathy have expressed grief over the deaths. Both leaders conveyed condolences to the bereaved families and prayed for the speedy recovery of those undergoing treatment.
