Seema Prajapat, 50, started vomiting suddenly, her brother Jitendra said. “We did not even get a chance to manage the situation. She died on the way to the hospital.” She was one of several residents of Bhagirathpura in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, who fell ill after drinking tap water.
By Tuesday, Indore’s mayor said at least three people had died and more than 100 were in hospital. Residents put the toll higher, at five, including four women.
What officials found
Residents told their local councillor, Kamal Baghela, that water supplied on 25 December had an unusual smell. Jitendra Prajapat said it had tasted “bitter” for days, and he wondered whether excess purification chemicals were the cause. Angry residents said the civic body ignored repeated complaints about foul water.
Municipal Commissioner Dilip Kumar Yadav said a leak had been found in the main water pipeline in Bhagirathpura, at a spot where a toilet had been built over it. Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava said that, with laboratory results pending, it appeared drainage water might have mixed into the supply lines. He promised strict action against officials for negligence.
The chief medical and health officer, Dr Madhav Prasad Hasani, described the response. After reports of a diarrhoea outbreak, health workers surveyed 2,703 households and examined about 12,000 people. They gave on-the-spot treatment to 1,146 patients with mild symptoms. Another 111 patients with more serious conditions were admitted to hospitals, and 18 had been discharged. “The patients said they suffered from vomiting, diarrhoea and dehydration after drinking contaminated water,” Hasani said. Medical teams and four ambulances were sent to the area, and water samples went to laboratories.
The families
Nandlal Pal, 80, was admitted on 28 December with vomiting and diarrhoea and died on Tuesday morning, according to his son Siddharth. Urmila Yadav, 70, developed diarrhoea on 27 December and died during treatment the next day, her daughter-in-law Chandrakala said. Manjula Digambar Vadhe, 74, and Uma Kori, 29, both died on Tuesday. Uma’s husband, Bihari Kori, called for a detailed probe to prevent such tragedies in future.
Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said the state would pay Rs 2 lakh to the families of the dead and cover the medical costs of those affected.
Political fallout
The Congress demanded a culpable homicide case against the mayor and the municipal commissioner. State Congress president Jitu Patwari said drainage water would cause vomiting, diarrhoea and jaundice but not death, and that “some kind of poisonous substance” might have entered the pipeline. State BJP spokesperson Alok Dubey called the remarks insensitive and “deliberate politics” over an unfortunate incident.
Indore draws its water from the Narmada river, piped about 80 km from Jalud in neighbouring Khargone district.
