Chhattisgarh School students fall ill after inhaling foul odour in Baloda Bazar, cement plant sealed

RAIPUR: Around 38 students of a govt school fell ill after inhaling poisonous chemical odour emitting from a nearby cement factory that serves as an alternate fuel resource (AFR) centre in Baloda Bazar district of Chhattisgarh on Wednesday. 18 of them had to be hospitalized and the condition of two students was initially reported critical and later stabilized after being referred to a better hospital.

The district administration has ordered sealing the plant till further orders and an investigation was initiated.

The students of Khapardih govt higher secondary school complained of nausea, vomiting and uneasiness in the morning and they started fainting one by one.

A team of doctors rushed to the school and the situation was taken under control and 18 students had to be hospitalized, while two of them were shifted to a hospital in Simga and two others in neighbouring Bhatapara for better care.

Speaking to TOI, Baloda Bazar Collector Deepak Soni said that the students’ condition was stated to be stable in the evening.

“There’s a Shree Cement Plant that has AFR in the area located about one and a half kilometres away from the school, which uses Phosphorus Pentasulfide chemical to decompose waste and prepare alternate fuel. Often it’s found that to speed up the process, the plants use a higher quantity of chemical. During the initial probe, it was found that the chemical used for decomposition was kept in open, which caused a foul smell and with the direction of wind towards school, affected the children,” Collector Soni said.

He added that the environment conservation board team, industrial health and safety team are all present at the spot to investigate the matter and the plant has been sealed. Prima facie, it was also found that there was a violation of protocols and based on the report, we will take action.

As there are fewer plantations in the area and the school directly faces the plant, the students of this particular school feel more affected.

Congress leader and former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel took to X and alleged of gas leak near the school and demanded the govt to take cognizance of the matter.

According to his post, students have been fainting and complaining of nausea for past three days while the villagers have also alleged uncontrolled pollution.

Villagers in large numbers protested outside the gate of Shree Cement plant till late evening and alleged of spreading pollution, affecting the health of local people.

The villagers said that not only the health of the children has deteriorated, but their lifestyle is also being affected.

After getting information about the children fainting, there was a stir in the local administration. Collector Deepak Soni and superintendent of Police Vijay Agarwal visited the spot after the incident.

Alternative arrangements are being made for studies so that the classes are not disrupted.

The teachers of the school said that the foul smell regularly comes around 10 am, due to which children face difficulty in breathing.