Berhampur, Aug. 31: Forty-three students of Tile Silpa Project Upper Primary School at College Square in Aska, about 40km from here, were taken ill after consuming their midday meal today.

“While two students, including Srutirani Bishoyi of Class VII and Dipu Patnaik of Class I, had to be shifted to MKCG hospital, others were admitted to government hospital in Aska,” said Bhanjanagar sub-collector Sudhanshu Mohan Samal, who visited the school. All the students complained of stomach ache and were vomiting.

Headmaster Bibhuti Bhusan Patra said the students became ill about 30 minutes after consuming the meal. “The soya used in the curry may have been contaminated,” he said.

According to the government’s instruction, 10 grams of soya along with 100 grams of vegetables are served to each student twice a week, Patra said. But today, the soya used for cooking had developed fungus. The cook first refused to cook it, but members of the self-help group gave him the same soya after getting it washed, he said.

However, MKCG sources said the students’ condition was improving.

The school has 167 students. Sources said one Maa Bapangi self-help group had been in charge of cooking meal for the school for many years.

Though the state government has decided that at least three persons will have to taste the meal before serving it to students, it is not followed in this school, some guardians alleged.

Dipu’s father Pintu Patnaik, on the other hand, alleged that there was no co-ordination between the headmaster and the self-help group. “The incident has occurred due to negligence and the authorities must take stringent action,” he said.

Managing director of Aska Co-operative Sugar Factory Limited Trilochan Majhi, Aska block development officer Balaram Mallick, deputy inspector of schools Santosh Kumar Patra and others visited the school and the hospital.