Over 100 Villagers Sick After Suspected Food Poisoning at Wedding Feast in Palamu

Palamu: More than 100 people in a village in Jharkhand’s Palamu district fell ill after allegedly consuming contaminated food at a wedding feast, prompting the administration to rush medical assistance to the area.

The incident occurred in Bohita village under Satbarwa block, where a large number of villagers and guests had gathered on Wednesday evening for a pre-wedding feast hosted by local resident Harishankar Chandravanshi ahead of his son Lavkush Sharma’s marriage.

According to villagers, the food served at the gathering included puris, vegetables and bundi. Within a few hours of eating the meal, several people began complaining of nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, dizziness and severe stomach pain.

By Thursday morning, cases of illness started surfacing from multiple households in the village, with the number of affected people quickly crossing 100.

Panic spread across the village as more people reported similar symptoms. About 10 individuals are said to be in critical condition and have been referred to Medininagar Medical College and Hospital (MMCH) and the Community Health Centre in Lesliganj for specialised treatment.

In response to the emergency, the district administration set up a temporary medical camp at a village school to treat those affected. Due to the large number of patients and limited facilities, many were given saline on mats placed in the school veranda.

Palamu Civil Surgeon Dr Anil Kumar Srivastava reached the village with a team of health officials to monitor the situation and oversee treatment arrangements. He instructed medical teams to shift seriously ill patients to hospitals immediately, while others continue to receive treatment at the temporary camp.

Four ambulances have been deployed in the area to transport patients if required.

Officials said the incident appears to be a case of food poisoning, but the exact cause will only be confirmed after laboratory testing of the food samples. Meanwhile, medical teams have been stationed in the village to keep a close watch on the health condition of the affected villagers.

With inputs from IANS