65 schoolchildren take ill after consuming iron pills

As many as 65 students of the Diggenahalli government high school near Javagal in the taluk took ill on Tuesday, after they consumed iron tablets given to them in the school. 

All of them are undergoing treatment at the Javagal government hospital and the condition of 13 students is said to be critical.

 A total of 20 students have been taken to the Arsikere government hospital.  It is said that Tuesday was the expiry date of the tablets. The children were given the tablets even though there was an instruction that the distribution of the tablets should be stopped three months before the expiry date.

Block education officer Nataraju visited the hospital and enquired the health of the students. 

The parents of the schoolchildren rushed to the hospital, on being told about the incident. 

They demanded that the cause for the incident should be ascertained at the earliest.