Over 100 fall ill after consuming food at wedding feast in Jharkhand’s Palamu

Over 100 people fell ill after reportedly consuming food at a wedding feast in a village inJharkhand’s Palamu district,prompting the district administration to set up a temporary medical camp and deploy emergency health teams.

The incident took place in Bohita village under Satbarwa block Wednesday evening when village residents and guests attended a pre-wedding feast hosted by a local resident for his son’s marriage.

Within hours of consuming the food, several attendees began complaining of vomiting, diarrhoea, dizziness and severe stomach pain.

Speaking about the incident, Palamu Civil Surgeon Droctor Anil Kumar Srivastava said the illness appeared to have been caused after people consumed food during a wedding function.

“The function was organised by Harishankar Chandravanshi from the village ahead of his son’s wedding.

By Thursday morning, reports of illness began emerging from multiple households in the village, with the number of affected people rising rapidly,” he said.

Srivastava said more than 100 people were present at the wedding function.

He said when some residents began experiencing weakness and dizziness while heading to the fields in the morning, they immediately reached out to the health department.

With the number of patients crossing 100, the health department converted a primary school in Pokharpar Tola into a temporary treatment centre.

Due to a shortage of beds, several patients were administered saline while lying on mats spread across the school verandah.

Another official from the health department said 10 patients whose condition was reported to be serious were referred to Medininagar Medical College and Hospital and the Community Health Centre in Lesliganj for advanced treatment.

However, the Civil Surgeon said none of the patients were in a serious condition.

“Preventive medicines have been given and treatment is being provided,” he said.

He said some patients were taken to health facilities for observation.

“Though we have provided medicines to around 300 people in the village as there were over a hundred of them, about 31 people were hospitalised.

Then 12 patients were admitted to the Community Health Centre, and 19 patients were taken to the Medical College,” he said.

Srivastava said he visited the village along with a team of health officials to review the situation.

He directed that critically ill patients be shifted to hospitals immediately by ambulance, while others continue to receive treatment at the temporary camp set up in the village.

Four ambulances have been stationed in the area to handle the emergency, he said.

“The incident appears to be a case of food poisoning.

However, the exact cause will be confirmed only after the food samples are tested,” Srivastava said.

Shubham Tigga is a Correspondent at The Indian Express, presently based in Pune, where he covers the intersections of infrastructure, labor, and the modern economy.

His reporting focuses on civil aviation, urban mobility, the gig economy, and workers' unions, providing critical insights into how transit and commercial sectors impact the daily lives of citizens.

Expertise & Background
Before moving to Pune, he reported extensively from his home state of Chhattisgarh, where he focused on Indigenous (Adivasi) issues, environmental justice, and grassroots struggles in mainland India.

This experience gives him a unique lens through which he analyzes the impact of large-scale infrastructure projects on local communities.

Academic Foundation
He is an alumnus of the prestigious Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), where he honed his skills in investigative reporting and ethical journalism.

His academic training, combined with his field experience in Central India, allows him to navigate complex socio-economic landscapes with nuance and accuracy.

You can reach out to him on LinkedIn...

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