A diarrhoea outbreak linked to contaminated drinking water has left 142 people hospitalised in Indore, with 11 in ICUs; six deaths have been officially confirmed.
Health teams screened over 9,000 people in Bhagirathpura, the epicentre, detecting 20 new cases; officials say the situation is now under control.
The crisis has triggered political backlash, demands for judicial probes, and allegations of systemic corruption in Indore’s water supply network.
Even though 20 new patients were identified during the screening of over 9,000 people in the Bhagirathpura district, the epicentre of the infection, up to 142 people are currently hospitalised due to an outbreak of diarrhoea caused by polluted drinking water in Indore, including 11 in intensive care units.
During an ongoing survey in Bhagirathpura, where six people have died from contaminated water, health workers evaluated 9,416 people from 2,354 houses and found 20 new instances, officials said on Sunday.
Officials have reported that 398 individuals have been admitted to hospitals since the outbreak began. Out of them, 256 people have recovered and been released.
142 people, including 11 admitted to intensive care units (ICUs), are presently receiving treatment at hospitals, according to their statement.
They noted that the outbreak is currently under control.
A team from the National Institute for Research in Bacterial Infections (NIRBI), located in Kolkata, has arrived in Indore to investigate the health issue, according to Chief Medical and Health Officer Dr. Madhav Prasad Haasani.
He claimed that in order to manage the spread, the health department is receiving technical assistance from specialists from NIRBI, which is connected to the Indian Council of Medical Research.
Thus far, the administration has verified six fatalities. Locals reported that 16 people, including a six-month-old kid, had perished as a result of the diarrhoea outbreak, while Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava had put the death toll at ten.
The Congress called for senior Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya's resignation due to his use of the word "ghanta" when answering queries from media regarding the events in Indore during bell-ringing protests around Madhya Pradesh amid the outcry over deaths.
On the evening of December 31, Vijayvargiya caused a commotion when he said "ghanta" in response to a query regarding the water poisoning situation posed by reporters on video.
Given that Bhagirathpura is a part of his Indore-1 assembly seat, the Congress called for a judicial investigation and the dismissal of Vijayvargiya, who is in charge of housing and urban development.
On January 11, State Congress President Jitu Patwari threatened to start an agitation if the party's requests for corrective action were not fulfilled.
He demanded registration of a culpable homicide case against Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava and concerned civic officials.
"Sixteen people have died. These deaths are the murder of the mandate that people gave to the BJP in the previous elections. There must be a judicial probe into the deaths caused by contaminated drinking water, and those guilty should be given strict punishment," Patwari told reporters.
He claimed residents of Bhagirathpura had been complaining for the past eight months that contaminated water was coming from municipal tap connections, but no action was taken.
"They are also saying water currently being supplied through municipal tankers in Bhagirathpura is also contaminated," Patwari alleged.
Meanwhile, a sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) in neighbouring Dewas was suspended on Sunday for allegedly referring to a minister's (read Vijayvargiya) controversial remark and Congress's allegations in an official order amid the Indore water contamination crisis, officials said.
Ujjain division revenue commissioner Ashish Singh suspended the SDM on charges of serious negligence, indifference, and irregularities in the discharge of official duties.
The officials said the SDM had issued a government order on Saturday to deploy subordinate revenue officers to maintain law and order in view of a Congress protest held in Dewas.
"The wording of a portion of the Congress memorandum was copied verbatim in the SDM’s order issued for official purposes. This amounts to serious negligence," an official told PTI.
The Congress memorandum had targeted the BJP government and stated that Vijayvargiya’s use of the objectionable word reflected “inhumanity and authoritarianism.
The word "Ghanta" has different shades of meaning, but in common parlance, its usage conveys nonsense.
Renowned water conservationist Rajendra Singh termed the deaths due to contaminated drinking water a "system-created disaster," alleging that deep-rooted corruption is to blame for the tragedy.
The Magsaysay Award winner, popularly known as the "Waterman of India," expressed alarm that such a crisis could unfold in Indore, which has been consistently ranked as India's cleanest city.
"If such a tragedy can occur in the country's cleanest city, it shows how serious the condition of drinking water supply systems must be in other cities," Singh told PTI.
Government officials admitted the sewage overflow from the toilet spilt over into the water mains, causing the outbreak of severe episodes of vomiting and diarrhoea.
"Indore's contaminated drinking water crisis is a system-created disaster. To save money, contractors lay drinking water pipelines in proximity to drainage lines," Singh claimed.
He alleged "corruption” has ruined the entire system. The Indore tragedy is the direct result of this corrupt system, he added.
“The year-on-year decline in groundwater levels in Indore is the most worrying. I visited Indore for the first time in 1992. Even then, I had asked how long the city would depend on water from the Narmada river?" Singh said.
A large amount of money is lost to corruption in the project to bring Narmada water to Indore from 80 kilometres away, the water conservationist charged.
The Narmada River provides Indore with the water it needs. Water from the Narmada River is transported to Indore from Jalud in the nearby Khargone district, which is 80 km away, via pipelines installed by the municipal corporation. On alternate days, houses receive this water.
Civic officials claim that the municipal corporation's treasury only spends about Rs 25 crore per month on electricity bills for this project.
Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava's remarks might also be used to measure the project's enormous cost.
During a seminar in the city on June 27, 2024, Bhargava had said, "Ever since I became mayor, I have been joking that Indore is one of the richest cities in Asia because we drink water that costs Rs 21 per kilolitre and also let it flow wastefully. We are not drinking water, but ghee.
