Editor Mr.Mayank Rawat ( Chief Editor Mr. Rohit Mishra )
New Delhi: An online post on Tuesday claimed nearly half the students in an IIT-Delhi hostel were hospitalised after allegedly consuming food from the institute’s mess.
However, IIT-D denied the allegations, saying the food in question was not served by the hostel mess but instead ordered from an external vendor.
The post, which was widely shared on social media, alleged that students consumed litti chokha from the hostel mess, after which many fell seriously ill. It further claimed thatseveral students were hospitalised due to it. “Nobody knows what was contaminated — the food? The water? Both? The whole hostel turned into a patient ward overnight. People had to be rushed to the IIT-D hospital, and guess what? There’s only one doctor. I’m standing in the line as I type this out, already waited for over 45 minutes and still six people ahead of me,” the post stated, triggering awave of reactions across social media platforms.
The post further stated, “Last night, litti chokha was served in the hostel mess, and everyone ate it. By morning, there was chaos as people were falling sick like flies. Vomiting, diarrhoea, fever, chills… some unfortunate people even contracted typhoid.”
In a statement, IIT-Delhi said, “Some of the students residing in a boys’ hostel at IIT-Delhi visited the institute hospital with symptoms like nausea, fever and stomach ache. As informed by some of the students to the medical staff, they experienced these symptoms after eating sweets that were procured from an outside vendor.”
The students were being given treatment, the institute added. “The students are being treated at the IIT hospital and are stable. The institute administration is providing allnecessary support to the students to ensure their physical well-being,”it said. One student, visibly upset by the incident, said that with exams just around the corner, falling seriously ill disrupted their preparation and caused unnecessary stress.
He attributed the situation to what he described as the institute’s “carelessness” in ensuring food safety. “Some of us were in such a bad condition that immediate medical attention was needed. At a time when we should be focusing on our studies, we are dealing with hospital visits and health issues.”
A social media user said: “What are we supposed to do? Crawl into the exam hall with ORS packets and puke bags?”
Mayank Rawat
