Indore water contamination deaths: Municipal commissioner removed, two officials suspended

The Madhya Pradesh government on Friday removed Indore’s municipal commissioner and suspended two other officials in connection with the deaths of at least 10 persons after consuming contaminated drinking water in the city.

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said on social media that the government will “not tolerate negligence” in the incident and that action was being taken in the matter.

While Municipal Commissioner Dilip Kumar Yadav was removed, Additional Municipal Commissioner Rohit Sissoniya and Sanjeev Shrivastava, who is the superintendent engineer in charge of the Public Health Engineering department, were suspended, the chief minister said.

More than 1,400 persons had fallen ill with symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhoea and dehydration in the city’s Bhagirathpura area, with cases being first reported on December 24. The authorities had earlier said that residents of the area had complained that the water supplied to them had an unusual smell.

More than 200 persons had also been hospitalised.

On Friday, Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava said that he had received information about 10 deaths due to contaminated water. However, residents of the area have claimed that 14 persons, including an infant, died.

Chief Medical and Health Officer Madhav Prasad Hasani on Thursday said that laboratory reports from a city medical college had confirmed that the drinking water in the locality had been contaminated due to a pipeline leakage.

The authorities had earlier said that a leakage was found in the main water supply pipeline in the area above which a toilet had been constructed, and that the drinking water may have been contaminated as a result.

On Friday, Yadav held a review meeting and announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the families of the deceased.

During the day, the Madhya Pradesh High Court ordered the municipal corporation to supply additional water tankers and urged the authorities to “uphold the beauty” the city.

A bench of Justices Dwarkadhish Bansal and Rajendra Kumar Vani was hearing a public interest litigation about the deaths. The bench asked the municipal corporation and the state government to supply clean water on a regular basis and to provide treatment to those affected.

The state government told the court that the outbreak of sickness due to the contaminated water supply was under control, with continuous monitoring in place to prevent any resurgence, The Week reported.

In a 40-page status report submitted in court, the state government added that an order had been issued on Tuesday, directing all private hospitals to provide free treatment to all affected persons.

BJP leaders, Opposition criticise state government

The incident has drawn criticism from leaders of the state’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Opposition.

Former Chief Minister and BJP leader Uma Bharti on Friday said that the incident was a matter of shame for the state government and a crucial test of Yadav’s leadership.

“The deaths due to drinking contaminated water in Indore by the end of the year 2025 have shamed and disgraced our state, our government, and our entire system,” Bharti said on social media. “In the city that received the award for being the cleanest city in the state, such ugliness, filth, and poisoned water that has swallowed so many lives and continues to do so, the death toll is rising.”

She added that the “price of life was not Rs 2,00,000 because their families remain immersed in grief for a lifetime”. The BJP leader added that an apology must be sought from those affected and maximum punishment must be given to all the culprits.

“Not just the mayor of Indore, but the governance and administration of Madhya Pradesh, all those responsible for this great sin are standing in the dock of crime against the public,” Bharti added.

On Friday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also questioned the BJP government about the deaths and said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi remained silent whenever the poor die.

Saying that the state had become an “epicentre of misgovernance”, the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha questioned why the authorities did not pay heed to residents repeatedly complaining about the “dirty, foul-smelling water”.