New Delhi: Nearly 20 migrant labourers and their children suffered food poisoning reportedly after consuming free ‘poha’ being given away near the polling stations in Fatehgunj area in Vadodara on Tuesday.

The labourers who consumed it vomited and complained of stomach pain and were rushed to SSG Hospital in ambulances. The labourers stay in slums in Suryanagar near Navayard in the Fatehgunj area. Vadodara police have said that a probe will be launched into the incident. Most of the affected were children aged between 10 and 18 years, an Indian Express report said.

Free ‘poha’ was being given away reportedly near the polling stations in Fatehgunj area. The labourers scrambled to have the food. “Someone offered them ‘poha’ while they were heading for work. They consumed the ‘poha’ and after some time started vomiting,” Prakash Bhuria, who accompanied the labourers at the hospital, was quoted as saying in a Times of India report. Bhuria said that around 25 casual labourers and their families had consumed the ‘poha’ which were distributed in Mehsananagar, Abhilasha crossroads, Sama and Fatehgunj areas.

The labourers didn’t know who distributed the ‘poha’. It is believed that most patients hail from Dahod district and Madhya Pradesh and are residing in the slums while earning their livelihood as migrant labourers in Vadodara.

According to doctors, those admitted in the hospital suffered symptoms of food poisoning and they are in a stable condition. Of the 20 patients brought to SSG Hospital, two were discharged by Tuesday evening.

Two years back, over 50 students at government Kasturba school suffered food poisoning and were admitted to a hospital in Sanga Reddy district of Telangana. “Students fell sick at government Kasturba girls hostel. They consumed ‘poha’ as breakfast in the morning and a few students found worms in the ‘poha’,” RDO, Narayankhed, Ambadas Rajeshwar had told ANI then. Around 50 students reportedly suffered from vomiting, nausea, giddiness and stomach pain, and were immediately shifted to the hospital.