# Odisha school girls fall ill; parents seek rituals over medical aid 2026-08-15T20:18:18+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Six girl students fell ill during a flag-hoisting ceremony at Padianali UGUP School in Odisha’s Deogarh district. Some of them collapsed and displayed unusual behaviour moments after the national flag was hoisted. Instead of taking them to a hospital, parents suspected a supernatural cause and performed rituals at the Mahamaya premises. The Deogarh District Education Officer intervened after being informed. Three students were rescued and admitted to Barkote Community Health Centre, while the condition of the others improved. Times Now reported that on August 13, a similar incident was reported at Naikula Government Tribal High School in the same district, where four girl students fell ill after their midday meal and were taken to Deogarh District Headquarters Hospital. The exact cause of both incidents remains unknown. Authorities are expected to determine the medical reasons and ensure student safety. No clear response has come from school authorities so far. ## Coverage - timesnownews.com This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: deogarh, District Education Officer, Independence Day, Odisha Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/odisha-school-girls-fall-ill-parents-seek-rituals-over-medical-aid/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/odisha-school-girls-fall-ill-parents-seek-rituals-over-medical-aid/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/