6 students fall ill after drinking water at KV in Chandigarh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 15

As many as six students of Kendriya Vidyalaya, 3BRD Air Force area, have fallen ill allegedly after drinking contaminated water in the school. A video showing live insects in a water cooler of the school has also surfaced. However, the school authorities have denied any such development.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a parent whose son has fallen ill, said four students of a section of Class X reported suffering from diarrhoea and nausea. When a correspondent visited the school today, the cleaning of the water coolers was on. The children were still seen drinking from the same source and when the correspondent took pictures, the employees asked the students not to drink from it.

The security guard on duty, Hukam Chand, said he too had been sick since Monday. Hukam Chand said he had asked the authorities to get the water coolers cleaned but they did not pay heed to it. “I have been suffering from diarrhoea and nausea since Monday but the authorities did not listen to me,” the guard said. 

Principal SK Mishra denies that any child had fallen ill. “It happened due to the recent rain but we have rectified it,” he first said but later added, “It could be the mischief of some student who might have thrown the insects inside the water cooler and recorded the video.” However, he agreed that the school had confiscated 17 mobile phones of students.

The principal has been on leave since May 25 as he had met with an accident but says his school teachers have confirmed that no such incident took place. The principal said they have ‘nothing to hide’ and if something like this would have happened, that would have informed the media themselves.