According to Dixit, the affected women were given anti-allergy medicines and some administrated saline drip.

He said the mehndi they used must have been expired or contained noxious chemicals which reacted with the skin.

Some of the women undergoing treatment said they had applied mehndi Sunday night to celebrate Eid and in a few hours, their hands began to itch.

'The colour of our skins where the mehndi was applied turned red. Later, our palms and hands became swollen,' said Sahanur Bibi, a patient.

Tension prevailed for over an hour at Bont when locals staged a road blockade after they found doctors absent when the women were taken to hospital for treatment.

Similar incidents were reported from Soro and Jaleswar areas of Balasore district and Bahalda area of Mayurbhanj district.

While 3 and 12 women in Soro and Jaleswar respectively fell ill, 10 others in Bahalda were provided treatment, health officials said.

The district headquarters of Balasore is located about 200 km from state capital Bhubaneswar. Bhadrak and Mayurbhanj are neighbouring districts.