Team News Riveting
Raipur, January 22
Over 30 girl students fell ill after the burning of medical waste by a cement factory in Balodabazar district of Chhattisgarh on Wednesday.
Preliminary reports suggested that the smoke of the burning medical waste filled the air that affected the girls in the school located adjacent to the plant owned by Shree Cement Limited in Suhela village. The cement factory could not be contacted for its version on the issue.
Sources said many girls fainted after vomiting as the smokes polluted the area. The incident took place at the Government Higher Secondary School Khaparadih.
The girls were taken to the Community Health Center. Irked by this incident, the villagers staged a dharna at the gate of the Shree Cement factory, accusing it of spreading pollution.
On receiving information about this incident, Collector Deepak Soni reached the spot and enquired about the incident. He rushed to the health centre where the girls were given first aid.
Over 30 girls were affected out of which 12 reported complications. They were referred to Bhatapara and Baloda Bazar district headquarters for better treatment. The remaining children are being treated at the health center Suhela.
The collector met the affected children and enquired about their condition. He said that an investigation is being conducted to find out the reasons for the deterioration of the health of the girl students.
According to villagers, Shree Cement burnt medical waste in its factory due to which a pungent stench spread and the girl students started suffocating and they started fainting one after the other. Unconfirmed report said that leakage of some gas from the factory resulted in the incident.
The villagers staging dharna are demanding that the plant shall be closed immediately as it has been violating the norms. The district administration is keeping a close watch on the development even as a heavy police force had been deployed in the area to avert any untoward incident.
