Girl dies, 7 siblings and cousins ill after eating castor seeds in Nandurbar's Dhadgaon

A girl has died and seven other children of the same family fell ill in Modalgaon in Dhadgaon taluka of Nandurbar district after eating seeds of a castor plant growing on the bund of a field while playing. One child remains in a very critical condition. Grief has settled over the area.

According to the information available, the parents of the tribal family in Modalgaon have gone to another district to work as labourers for their livelihood and employment. The responsibility for looking after the children therefore rested entirely with their elderly grandparents.

On the day of the incident, the grandparents had gone to the field as usual to graze cattle. There was no adult at home, so the children were playing on the field bund. Out of curiosity, they plucked seeds from the castor plant on the bund and ate them. Soon all the children began to suffer vomiting, nausea and stomach pain. Their condition worsened rapidly because of the toxic substances in the seeds.

On hearing the news, villagers and relatives rushed over and admitted all eight affected children to the rural hospital in Dhadgaon. Five of the children are boys and three are girls.

Doctors at the Dhadgaon rural hospital began treatment immediately, but one of the girls died. While the remaining seven children were being treated, the condition of one of them became worrying. The child has been sent to the district hospital in Nandurbar for further treatment and intensive care. Doctors said the condition of the other six children is stable for now.

Every year, many families from remote areas of Nandurbar and the Satpura range go to other districts for sugarcane harvesting or other labour. The care of the young children left behind falls to elderly grandparents. The incident has once again raised the serious question of the safety and care of children left behind by migrating workers.