On the first day of the Navratri festival, over 70 people fell ill after consuming food items made from buckwheat flour (kuttu ka aata) after ending their day-long fast in Haridwar, officials said.
Several cases of food poisoning were reported on Friday night and Saturday morning at the villages of Kangri, Gajiwali, Shyampur, Brahampuri and Roshanabad areas of Haridwar.
Speaking totoday, District Magistrate Vinay Shankar Pandey confirmed the news and said, "72 people fell ill after eating buckwheat flour in various villages of Haridwar on Saturday evening. All of them were admitted to a hospital in Haridwar."
Pandey along with other officers visited the District Hospital and Mela Hospital to know the condition of the patients where they have been admitted and directed the officers to take action against both the wholesalers and to collect samples.
"Instructions have been given to stop the supply of buckwheat flour to the shopkeepers here temporarily. We are closely looking into the matter and will try to nab the accused at the earliest," he said.
Chaitra Navratri festivities began on Saturday. The nine-day festivities began on April 2 and will go on till April 11. Each day is dedicated to a different form of Goddess Durga, worshipping the power and qualities that each avatar represents.
( With inputs from ANI )
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