30 girl students fall ill after taking iron pills

Karimnagar: Thirty students of the hostel attached to Kasturiba School for Girls at Odela mandal headquarters fell ill after taking iron tablets on Friday. The officials of Rajiv Vidya Mission (RVM) and Sarva Siksha Abhiyaan (SSA) have been distributing the iron tablets to school children across the state for the past some years to prevent anemia among the students. As was directed by the RVM and SSA officials, the girl students of Kasturiba School here were also given tablets. The students, after having their breakfast, were given the tablets. Immediately the students started vomiting and complained of headache. The female nurse Sravanthi shifted the students to Primary Health Centre (PHC) in the village where they are being treated. Their condition is said to be stable. On information, Deputy District Medical and Health Officer (DDMHO) Bikshapathi and other officials visited the PHC at Odela and spoke to the students. Bikshapathi said that the students were given iron tablets last week also and there were no complaints then. He opined that the illness of students on Friday might have been caused due to food poisoning as they had breakfast before taking the pills. However, an inquiry would be conducted in this regard, he said.