VARKALA: In an alarming case, the total number of people affected by food poisoning after eating the Yemeni dish Kuzhimandi rose to 79 from 22. A total of 47 people sought treatment at Taluk Hospital and 32 at Sivagiri Sree Narayana Medical Mission Hospital.

The affected are people who consumed Kuzhimandi and Alfaham from hotels ‘NewSpicy Foodbay’ and ‘Elephant Eatery’ functioning near the Varkala temple area. It comes as no surprise that the health department had previously shut down the two hotels citing unhygienic working conditions. The two hotels come under the same management. The people who had the dish from the hotel suffered stomach aches during their late sleep hours. This soon morphed into a headache, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhoea.

The hotels were closed on Sunday following an inspection by the Food Safety Department. Officials of the Food Safety Department informed that the food items in the hotel have been sent to the District Analyst Laboratory for testing. Based on the confirmation of food poisoning, the municipal corporation revoked the license of both establishments after conducting further inspection.

Last March, around 100 people got food poisoning after eating from ‘New Spicy Foodbay’. Municipal officials informed that the closed establishment was allowed to reopen after obtaining departmental clearance.

BJP Varkala unit marched in protest towards the municipality alleging negligence of municipal health department officials in the case. The police arrested the leaders including the BJP councillors. Around 11.30 am, the demonstration started from Varkala Maidan and reached in front of the municipal gate. Despite the strong police bulwark, the BJP workers stormed inside and managed to move past the gate leading to a small scuffle in the area.