Kannur: At least 10 girl students, who took part in High School's Oppana contest at the ongoing 57th Kerala School Kalolsavam Friday, fell unconscious at the venue as their event dragged on for hours. One of the students was reportedly hospitalized in a bad condition. A participant's mother also collapsed at the venue.
Reason? The girls were made to sit in their heavy costumes for at least 7 hours, without food and dinner. After that, they had to dance their hearts out on the stage, smiling before the judges and the audience.
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The contest, which was supposed to begin at 9 am in the morning, took off around 10 am. Though it was supposed to end at 2 pm, the event concluded only by 6.15 pm as there were 20 appeal entries in addition to the 14 winning teams from revenue district festivals.
The girls, who ate only in the morning, had to sit for hours waiting for their turns. “They had not eaten anything after that. They were not drinking water too as it would damage their make-up. After their performance, a couple of students fell unconscious and they were given water behind the stage,” a journalist who was at the Oppana venue since morning told Onmanorama. Usually, parents and teachers restrict students from consuming water or food, fearing it would hurt their chances of winning the contest if the make-up and costume gets spoiled.
The student, who was rushed to hospital in an ambulance as she collapsed after her performance, was in a bad shape, witnesses said. The other girls who fell unconscious were okay after they were given food and water. They left the venue a while later.