Mysuru/ Kollegal: At least 11 people, including a 12-year-old girl and a seven-year-old boy died and over 60 were hospitalised after consuming temple ‘prasadam’ distributed at Maramma temple in Sulwadi village in Hanur taluk, Chamarajanagar district last evening in a suspected case of food poisoning.

While seven died at the Government hospital in Kollegal and other hospitals, four died at the K.R. Hospital and a private hospital in Mysuru, according to Chamarajanagar S.P. Dharmendra Kumar Meena. Over 100 people have been admitted at different hospitals in Mysuru and Chamarajanagar districts.

The Maramma temple is in Sulwadi village along the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border and most of the victims were Tamil-speaking workers. Many had gathered to offer thanks on being blessed with a child after years of marriage.

The devotees had participated in a programme ahead of their visit to Om Shakti temple in Tamil Nadu and took part in a few rituals after which there was foundation laying puja for the construction of temple tower (Gopura).

Subsequently, they were given ‘rice bath’ as prasadam around noon and a few of them immediately experienced a vomiting sensation. This was reported by other devotees also and soon scores of devotees who had consumed the prasadam complained of dizziness while a few vomited.

The devotees were immediately rushed to the local primary Health Centre for first aid but the doctors and the paramedical staff at the Primary Health Centre (PHC) suspected that their condition was grave. Hence, they were immediately shifted to different hospitals including the K.R. Hospital in Mysuru, Government Hospital in Kollegal and a few private medical institutions at Kamagere and Ramapura.

The Doctors and the nurses struggled to handle the sudden rush of food poisoning cases and the more serious ones were shifted to the K.R. Hospital. Of the 32 patients who were wheeled in, 10 were unconscious. They were immediately put on life support system while five other patients were shifted to JSS Hospital where ventilator support was available.

Doctors at the K.R. Hospital said all the symptoms point to poisoning as the patients were suffering from muscular pain, diarrhoea and vomiting. A majority of the patients were women and children. Locals accompanying the patients said that they were from Bidarahalli, Marthahalli, M.G. Doddi and Sulwadi villages and worked in local granite quarries.

The Health Department authorities in Mysuru said samples of the prasadam prepared by the temple authorities have been collected and would be sent to the laboratory for forensic analysis. Meanwhile, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, who was in Chennai inquiring health condition of Siddaganga Swamiji of Tumakuru, ordered a detailed inquiry in to the incident and instructed the Deputy Commissioner to take necessary steps to provide proper treatment. Kumaraswamy also announced Rs.5 lakh compensation to the next kin of the dead.

Kumaraswamy said that treatment expenses of the hospitalised will be borne by the Government. Two people have already been taken into custody for questioning in this connection, he added. Doctors attending to the patients at K.R. Hospital and Cheluvamba Hospital suspect that they may have eaten “food blended with poison used in pest control.”.

Gopura controversy

Petty politics between two gangs over building a Gopura for Maramma Temple is said to be the reason for some persons poisoning the devotees. What was initially believed to have been a simple case of food poisoning, turned out to be shocking instance of sabotage. While one group wanted the Gopura, the other group opposed it.

Chamarajanagar Police arrested two villagers – Chennappa, a member of the local village gram Panchayat and Madesha – for allegedly poisoning the ‘prasadam’ prepared at the temple to be distributed among devotees.

Kollegal hospital couldn’t cope up with rush

Many people who had developed uneasiness after eating prasadam were made to suffer for want of proper treatment at Kollegal Taluk Hospital. The Kollegal hospital lacked necessary infrastructure and the staff to cope up with a rush of patients, some of them in serious condition.

The victims were rushed to Sulwadi Healthcare Centre where they were administered first aid and referred to Kollegal Government Hospital. With five doctors on duty, the hospital was simply not equipped to handle the situation. More than 25 critically ill persons had to be shifted to KR Hospital in Mysuru.

Doctors attending to the patients at K.R. Hospital and Cheluvamba Hospital suspect that they may have eaten “food blended with poison used in pest control”.

“Preliminary examination of the patients, who were rushed to the hospital, gives an impression they had eaten food containing poison. We suspect it could be phosphorous used in pesticides. This needs to be confirmed by the forensic experts after analysing the food samples. The condition of some patients is critical and they are on ventilator support. We cannot say anything else at this stage,” said K.R. Hospital Resident Medical Officer (RMO) Rajesh Kumar.

Health Department authorities in Mysuru confirmed that samples of the prasadam prepared by the temple have been collected and would be sent to the laboratory for forensic analysis.