40 admitted to several hospitals after consuming fermented soya beans

From Our Correspondent

THOUBAL | Dec 30

40 people including women and children, and the elderly were admitted to three different hospitals after consuming fermented soya beans

The unfortunate incident took place at Kiyamgei Muslim Awang Leikai under Imphal East district.

The patients were admitted at public hospital, Hatta, Jawaharlal Nehru Institutes of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) and Noor Hospital which is located in front of Lilong Police Station.

Regarding the incident, medical superintendent, JNIMS, Dr. Ranbir said to the media persons the patients had consumed the fermented soya yesterday evening and they started arriving sick at the hospital one after another from around 1.45 to 5 pm continuously.  They were reported falling sick from vomiting and diarrhea before being admitted to the hospitals.     

It is believed that the unfortunate event may have caused by using the beans which have been applied pesticides and meant to be planted only. They may have brought the chemically processed seeds from the market and use it. 

Organophosphate poisoning may have occurred into the seeds but no traces of it as such have been found so far.

The patients are out of danger as for now and they will be discharged soon.

He further said such incidents occur mostly at summer time but sometimes they do occur in winter. He appealed that one should be very careful while buying soya beans from market.

What can be termed as unfortunate, the media reporters who came to cover the news were stopped by some staff at the JNIMS casualty over the reason they will not allow media coverage without the consent of the director. 

Reporters were denied coverage of the news even after showing identity cards issued by AMWJU. The news was later covered after connecting the medical superintendent, JNIMS, Dr. Ranbir through a phone call.

Such denial of information, when a large number of people are going through difficulties, over the reason that the consent of director is required to collect news, was something that should not have happened.