Ghazipur: Over 120 villagers complain of eye infection after attending local celebration

“When more people started complaining of the same symptoms the next morning, we informed the CMO, who sent a medical team. The team applied ice cubes on the eyes of those affected and gave them eye drops. The CMO also visited the village. The situation is now under control,” he added.

CMO Chandra said at least 120 people were affected and while most of them responded to treatment on Saturday itself, around 35 needed treatment again on Sunday.

“Initially we too were surprised and weren’t able to understand what exactly happened. Those affected had red, swollen eyes and complained of severe pain whenever they tried to open their eyes. The Birha was also stopped midway and the performers left that night itself. However, what we found was that those sitting close to a particular halogen light with broken front glass had shown stronger symptoms. Around 80-90 people were inside the tent and they were more affected than those sitting outside. The medical teams are keeping an eye on the situation, which is now under control. We have given the patients eye drops and antibiotics,” the CMO said.

Asked if any action would be taken on the organisers, the CMO said he did not think they were at fault, and the same samiti had been organising the programme for the past several years without any untoward incident.