5 months ago
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The Madhya Pradesh Congress has alleged that astatine slightest 15 radical person died truthful acold aft drinking contaminated h2o supplied by the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC), adjacent arsenic the BJP-led State authorities maintained the authoritative decease toll astatine five, including a pistillate who died connected Friday (January 2, 2026).
After a reappraisal gathering chaired by M.P. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav connected Friday (January 2), the State authorities transferred 1 elder authoritative successful the IMC, arsenic the Congress called for accountability and enactment to beryllium taken against each those responsible. Former CM and BJP person Uma Bharti besides lashed retired astatine her ain party’s government, seeking “maximum punishment” to each culprits.
Official decease toll
In a presumption study submitted to the M.P. High Court, the territory medication and the State Health Department said that 4 people, each supra 60 years of age, person died truthful acold successful Indore’s Bhagirathpura owed to water-related problems. Indore District Collector Shivam Verma aboriginal updated the decease toll to five.
“The medication issues the figures connected the ground of aesculapian confirmation and truthful far, 5 deaths person occurred successful the incident,” Mr. Verma said. “We person besides constituted a squad of elder doctors which volition analyse the decease figures which were received from different sources specified arsenic nationalist representatives oregon media and past we volition update our authoritative decease fig report. Till yesterday, 201 radical were admitted; today, 9 much radical person been admitted, and the fig has risen to 210.”
During his sojourn to Indore connected Wednesday (December 31, 2025), Chief Minister Mohan Yadav had besides said, “There is accusation of 4 deaths but Indore is simply a large metropolis and [people] besides spell to backstage hospitals. So, determination is simply a criteria of government-conducted post-mortem. But our interest is that wherefore should adjacent 1 decease instrumentality place.”
Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargav besides told quality bureau PTI that helium has “received accusation of astir 10 deaths owed to this outbreak”.
Delayed response
Meanwhile, IMC Additional Commissioner Rohit Sisoniya was transferred connected Friday (January 2) and show-cause notices were issued against him and Commissioner Dileep Yadav. Public discontent against the civic assemblage has worsened owed to a hold successful taking enactment connected residents’ complaints of soiled h2o and delays successful starting enactment to laic a caller h2o proviso line. In-charge superintendent technologist Sanjeev Shrivastava was besides relieved of the complaint of the h2o organisation department.
These actions were taken connected the Chief Minister’s instructions aft a study was submitted by Additional Chief Secretary (Urban Administration and Development) Sanjay Dubey.
“This morning, I reviewed the actions being taken by the State authorities successful the Indore contaminated drinking h2o lawsuit with the Chief Secretary and different officials, and issued indispensable directions and guidelines,” Mr. Yadav said successful a station connected X.
Ignored complaints
As per an bid from Chief Secretary Anurag Jain, Mr. Sisoniya has been made a lawman caput successful the Farmers Welfare and Agriculture Development Department, portion 3 IAS officers person been made Additional Commissioners successful the IMC.
Mr. Sisoniya had been handling aggregate departments astatine the civic assemblage and the determination is aimed astatine delegating the work. He has besides been facing allegations of stalling enactment connected a caller h2o proviso enactment for Bhagirathpura pursuing residents’ complaints of soiled water.
“Complaints of soiled h2o had been coming from the country for much than a twelvemonth now. This is wherefore the task for a caller proviso enactment was added successful a note-sheet successful November, 2024, and the tender was issued successful August, 2025. But it was not opened and the enactment remained stalled,” an authoritative astatine the IMC said.
At a gathering with Mr. Dubey connected Thursday (January 1), Mr. Bhargav is learnt to person alleged that Mr. Susoniya and different elder officials of the civic assemblage were not listening to nationalist representatives arsenic helium claimed that the h2o issues successful Bhagirathpura had been brought up earlier officials respective times successful the past fewer months.
‘Transfer is not punishment’
The Madhya Pradesh Mahila Congress’ recently-appointed president Reena Bourasi termed the government’s measures successful the aftermath of the calamity arsenic “a specified cover-up” and alleged that those liable are being protected.
“The authorities is trying to support the accused successful the lawsuit of the decease of 15 people. The authorities lone pretended to instrumentality enactment aft Leader of the Opposition successful the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, tweeted astir the incident. This authorities did not instrumentality immoderate enactment adjacent connected the demands of its ain departmental Minister and the city’s mayor,” she said, adding that the transportation of 1 authoritative is not capable to hole accountability for the tragedy.
“Transfer is simply a portion of the administrative process; it is not a punishment,” she added.
Polymicrobial contamination
The Chief Minister besides held a reappraisal gathering with apical officials and nationalist representatives of each 16 municipality bodies and officials of assorted departments, and issued directions for corrective measures crossed the State to forestall specified incidents successful future.
“For this purpose, instructions person been fixed to the acrophobic officials to hole time-bound programmes,” helium said connected X.
More than 2,800 radical person truthful acold fallen sick aft consuming Narmada stream h2o supplied to pat connections by the civic body. A laboratory study of much than 70 h2o samples collected from Bhagirathpura and adjacent areas confirmed contamination successful 26 samples.
While the benignant of contamination is yet to beryllium made public, a elder authoritative said that the study suggests a “polymicrobial contamination” arsenic bacterias, viruses and parasites person each been recovered successful the samples.
‘Maximum punishment’
In a bid of tweets, erstwhile Chief Minister and elder BJP person Uma Bharti deed retired astatine the State authorities of her ain enactment portion seeking “maximum punishment” to those responsible.
In an evident onslaught connected Mr. Bhargav, Ms. Bharti said connected X: “In the lawsuit of Indore’s contaminated water, who is saying that they were not heard? When you were not heard, wherefore did you proceed to portion Bisleri h2o portion sitting successful your position? Why didn’t you permission the presumption and scope retired to the public? There is nary mentation for specified sins — either atonement oregon punishment!”
“In the metropolis that received the grant for being the cleanest metropolis successful the State, specified ugliness, filth, and poisoned h2o that has swallowed truthful galore lives and continues to bash so, the decease toll is rising. The terms of beingness is not ₹2 lakh due to the fact that their families stay immersed successful grief for a lifetime. A terrible atonement indispensable beryllium made for this sin, an apology indispensable beryllium sought from the affected people, and maximum punishment indispensable beryllium fixed to each the culprits from bottommost to top. This is simply a investigating clip for Mr. Mohan Yadav,” she said.
“Not conscionable the Mayor of Indore, but the governance and medication of Madhya Pradesh, each those liable for this large misdeed are lasting successful the dock of transgression against the public,” she added.
