MP children fall ill in bid to set Tiranga yatra record

MP schoolkids fall ill ‘waiting’ for minister at ‘Tiranga Yatra’.

BHOPAL: Twelve students fell ill after they walked several kilometres for a ‘Tiranga Yatra’ at Chitranga in Madhya Pradesh’s Singrauli district, only to be allegedly made to wait for nearly an hour for state panchayat and rural development minister Radha Singh to arrive.It was alleged that one of the students developed breathing difficulties and had to be administered oxygen support before being rushed to a nearby community health centre.More than 200 students from eight govt schools, including Sandipani Vidyalaya, Saraswati Vidyalaya and Excellence School, had gathered for the yatra. The event kicked off at 9am and ended around 11.30am.The students walked about 6km to reach Chitrangi market, where they allegedly waited for about an hour for the minister to show up. Thereafter, they walked a further 1.5km as part of the march.Some students said they had to skip breakfast to show up for the event, adding that there were inadequate arrangements for drinking water and snacks during their wait for the minister and the march.As the yatra progressed, several students complained of dizziness and weakness, with some even collapsing, according to local reports.The teachers, who accompanied them to the event, had to arrange auto-rickshaws to ferry the unwell students to the community health centre.Officials said all 12 students were treated for dizziness, exhaustion and other related complaints before being discharged about an hour later.A girl, who had a previous medical condition, had to be given oxygen support, an official said.Amid allegations of arriving late, the minister told mediapersons that the students fell ill due to the intense heat and brisk walking during the march. Denying negligence in arrangements, she said water was provided for at several points on the yatra route.Speaking to TOI, Singrauli collector Gaurav Benal said, “The DEO and SDM have been issued show-cause notices in the matter. Students studying in schools located far away should not have been brought for the event without proper arrangements. A few students complained of health issues and were taken to hospital where they received primary treatment before being discharged. They are all fine now. However, there’s no truth to the claims linking the incident to the alleged delayed arrival of the chief guest (the minister).”