JOIN USTen school students of Vaddaragudi (Lakshmipura) took ill after consuming jatropha seeds mistaking it to groundnuts and have been admitted to district government hospital in H D Kote on Thursday.
It is said that the students who were returning home on Wednesday evening after school saw the jatropha plant on the fence.
Nirmala, 1st standard student plucked the fruit opened it by smashing and removed the white coloured seeds that resembled groundnut and shared it with Nikitha, Subramanya, Shyalam, Hemavathy, Prameela and 2nd standard students Praveenkumar, Akash, third standard student Bharath and Eshwar.
The students complained of uneasiness as they reached home and informed their parents. Anxious over this, the parents assumed that there must have been a problem while preparing midday meals and immediately informed the school teachers.
Around 7 pm, some children vomited and the parents took them to women health assistant of the village Basamma, who immediately shifted the students in a private vehicle to the hospital for treatment.
Block Education Officer H T Manjunath, school head master Srikantaswamy visited the hospital and checked the health status of the children.
Paediatrician Dr Handa treated the kids and admitted them in the hospital for observation. However, the children are recuperating and there is no need for anxiousness, the doctor said.
Block Education Officer who spoke to the paper said that the parents should inform the kids not to consume anything without their permission.