Gariaband district in Chhattisgarh woke up to pandemonium Sunday as wedding banquets turned into breeding grounds for mass illness. Forty-four people, mostly villagers, were struck down by suspected food poisoning after attending two separate feast events, overwhelming local medical facilities.
Details emerged from Aamdi gram panchayat’s Mohlai villagers who joined a traditional Chauthiya event in Kutenna, and Darripara’s Boirgaon residents at a banquet in Dhavalpura. The night before, laughter and feasting filled the air as guests dispersed happily. No one foresaw the calamity ahead.
By morning, a wave of agony hit. Victims reported intense abdominal cramps, relentless vomiting, and diarrhea, forcing families to dial emergency services. Ambulances raced to the scenes, transporting patients to Kosmi’s upswasthya kendra, where chaos reigned—patients spilling into corridors as beds ran out.
Seventeen cases from Mohlai are critical; Boirgaon’s 27 patients paint an even bleaker picture. Health department teams have deployed swiftly, conducting village-wide checks to catch early symptoms. The tally could climb higher.
Sarpanchs Atmaram Netam and Rajkumar Sori have taken charge, bridging gaps between distraught families and stretched medical staff. Higher authorities are alerted, with probes into the food served at the weddings underway.
Experts suspect bacterial contamination in the meals, exacerbated by summer temperatures that spoil perishables quickly. Hygiene standards at such large gatherings are under scrutiny. As treatment intensifies, the focus stays on recovery, underscoring the perils of unchecked catering in rural festivities.