Indore diarrhoea deaths: Blindspotting in India’s cleanest city

It’s the 2nd week of 2026. There are much than 20 h2o tankers parked connected a roadworthy adjacent to the Laxmibai Nagar railway presumption successful Indore. They hold successful enactment to beryllium filled with drinking h2o from truck-tankers. As soon arsenic the tankers attached to tractors are full, they marque the rounds successful Bhagirathpura, wherever the presumption is located.

Next to the roadworthy is an unfastened crushed wherever workers are welding unneurotic ample metallic pipes. There are machines the size of bulldozers arranging the pipes, adjacent arsenic a radical of boys plays cricket connected the different broadside of the ground.

In Bhagirathpura, the roads person been dug up. Almost each lane has barricades and ‘work underway’ signs surrounding pits. Outside a authorities clinic, workers are installing drainage pipes. Some are mapping the lanes for a h2o proviso pipeline.

Government volunteers marque rounds with bullhorn speakers, advising radical against drinking pipeline h2o supplied by the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC). The h2o has been stopped, but erstwhile the proviso is being tested. Residents, mostly women, stitchery astir h2o tankers to capable buckets and room vessels. In the background, the walls successful the locality are painted with slogans promoting cleanliness, boasting of Indore being the cleanest metropolis successful India.

In the week betwixt Christmas and New Year, arsenic the satellite celebrated, Bhagirathpura, a neighbourhood of migrant and gig workers, battled a diarrhoea outbreak that affected 3,000 people. Of these, 8 died and 429 were admitted into 41 hospitals crossed Indore, arsenic per the Madhya Pradesh government. Records amusement that 18 families were paid a compensation of ₹2 lakh each, announced for the kin of the deceased. A aesculapian committee has been formed to verify aesculapian records of others who allegedly died owed to the contamination issue.

But determination were galore things astir the calamity that were laced with irony, too the information that Indore has been declared India’s cleanest metropolis for 8 years present by the Central government’s monitoring system, Swachh Survekshan.

The diarrhoea deaths were a effect of contaminated drinking h2o from the Narmada river, considered holy. Water is piped from astir 80 kilometres away, the pipes successful immoderate areas similar Bhagirathpura moving adjacent to ageing sewer lines. A h2o trial study aft the deaths showed that 35 retired of 80 borewells successful the country besides had h2o contaminated with a toxic premix of much than 25 bacteria, viruses, and parasites, indicating the groundwater was besides compromised. The authorities has not zeroed successful connected a origin oregon root of contamination.

This is the 2nd calamity wrong six months that has dented the marque of Indore being a cleanable city. In August, 2025, 2 infants died aft being bitten by rats wrong the neonatal ICU of the Maharaja Yashwant Rao (MY) Hospital, Madhya Pradesh’s largest authorities aesculapian facility.

While astir of Indore boasts clean, wide roads and increasing infrastructure, the 2 tragedies exposure the unsighted spots that prevarication beneath. They amusement that basal hygienic conditions and cardinal necessities are inactive retired of scope for many.

Indore is the largest metropolis successful Madhya Pradesh and its commercialized capital. Over the past decade, it has attracted respective businesses, specified arsenic IT large Infosys and the real-estate Lodha Group. The city’s estimated colonisation is 30 lakh and is increasing with the influx of migrant workers from wrong and extracurricular the State.

Furious families

At Bhagirathpura’s Marathi Mohalla, acceptable successful a noisy rootlike market, Sunil Sahu’s location has an uneasy silence. A 35-year-old courier transportation executive, Sahu mislaid his 6-month-old son, Aviyan, successful the wee hours of December 28. The household had added the pipeline h2o to the boy’s beverage for a fewer days.

“He fell sick connected the 26th and started vomiting, truthful we took him to a kid specialist. The doc gave him medicine and we came back. He seemed to beryllium getting amended and was good for a day. But his information worsened astir 4 a.m. connected the 28th,” says Sahu, sitting connected an aged sofa successful his two-room house. The household instantly rushed him to a paediatric infirmary successful the metropolis connected Sahu’s bike, but the doctors declared him brought dead.

Sahu opens his telephone to a fewer pictures of his son. He has an 11-year-old girl and says that they had a lad aft implicit 10 years and a batch of prayers. “My household is shattered and my woman is successful trauma. I conscionable anticipation the mistake the authorities has made is not repeated. What happened with america should not hap to anybody,” helium adds.

In each lane of Bhagirathpura, radical person fallen sick. Some are inactive successful the hospital, immoderate person conscionable been discharged, immoderate are recovering astatine location with medication.

In Pahalwan Gali, Alguram Yadav, 68, gingerly descends the stairs successful his partly-dilapidated house. While helium is inactive recovering from diarrhoea, his wife, Urmila Yadav, 63, could not past and died connected December 28.

His son, Sanjay Yadav, says that their full household fell sick owed to the water. “A time aft my mother’s cremation, my 11-month-old lad fell ill. He started vomiting repeatedly and got truthful anemic that helium wasn’t capable to sit. He was admitted successful Chacha Nehru Child Hospital for 4 days. Thankfully helium is amended now,” helium says.

Sanjay says his mother, who worked arsenic a assistance successful a school, helped him tally the house. “Even the time she fell ill, she had conscionable travel backmost from school. She besides utilized to marque saccharine boxes for immoderate other money,” Sanjay adds.

Unlike Sahu, Yadav is aggravated astatine the government. “For years, we utilized the h2o aft lone draining astir 2-3 buckets erstwhile the proviso starts,” helium says. Piped h2o is lone disposable for astir an hr daily. “From mid-December, we started noticing a weird odor successful the water. I don’t cognize what they mixed successful it this clip that the full country fell ill,” helium says.

Even though the State authorities has promised to refund the wealth spent by the residents connected attraction successful backstage hospitals, Alguram inactive awaits the ₹40,000 helium had to get for his wife’s attraction by mortgaging her jewellery.

Dirt delays

While the outbreak came to the authorities’ attraction connected December 29, the hospitals — some backstage and authorities — had begun to witnesser an influx of patients since December 24.

Indore Chief Medical and Health Officer Madhav Prasad Hasani says helium was alerted by the doc in-charge of Bhagirathpura’s authorities session connected the December 29, aft much than 300 cases were reported successful little than a day.

“As soon arsenic we got the information, we alerted each hospitals successful the neighbourhood and deployed further staff. Patients were admitted to 5 authorities and 36 backstage hospitals. Additional nursing unit was provided everyplace and astir 8 ambulances were deployed successful the area,” says Dr. Hasani.

Dr. R.K. Jha, the caput of medicine astatine Sri Aurobindo Institute of Medical Sciences, says that portion radical of each ages suffered from the contamination, the interaction was terrible for the aged and those with pre-existing illnesses.“It gets hard for the aged to retrieve from terrible dehydration,” helium says. Most of the deceased are implicit 60. He besides says that wellness issues physique up implicit time, with a repeated vulnerability to unhygienic conditions. “The caller contamination whitethorn person aggravated problems,” helium adds.

Locals and IMC officials accidental that Bhagirathpura is an unplanned settlement. While the main roadworthy of the locality is astir 15 feet wide and has the sewerage and main h2o proviso pipelines astir 8 feet apart, an adjunct technologist (AE) successful the IMC’s h2o works section says that the interior lanes are “so constrictive that the 2 sets of pipes are connected apical of 1 another, hardly 2-3 feet apart, with the sewerage web connected apical of the h2o pipeline”.

While the existing h2o proviso web successful the country was laid down utilizing robust pipes betwixt 1997 and 2000 with the Narmada h2o proviso starting a fewer years later, the sewerage web dates backmost to earlier the 1990s, accidental officials. They pass that determination are respective different Bhagirathpuras successful Indore.

A elder IMC authoritative besides admits to delays successful repair and replacement enactment crossed the 10-kilometre network. Bhagirathpura residents accidental they person been raising the contented of soiled h2o with section representatives arsenic good arsenic done the IMC’s 311 mobile exertion for implicit a year.

In a missive dated February 28, 2024, ward no.11, nether which Bhagirathpura falls, councillor Kamal Baghela had written to Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargav, saying that residents had been getting hospitalised with typhoid, jaundice, and fever owed to contaminated water. Baghela says that aft his complaints, Bhargav had inspected the country and issued instructions for repair and replacement works. Baghela, however, has present been facing the vigor of section residents who allege that helium did not enactment connected their complaints.

The AE, who does not privation to beryllium named, says, “About 20% of the main h2o proviso enactment was either replaced oregon repaired, but the enactment to regenerate the full network, including the organisation line, could not start.”

The task to regenerate the full h2o proviso web of Bhagirathpura had been cleared, but a institution was not contracted until radical died. The tender bid was hurriedly finalised and allotted connected December 31.

While the enactment to laic caller pipelines is nether way, officials of the municipal corp are besides moving to hint immoderate leakages and repair them. They are chlorinating assorted proviso points, including borewells. “Water proviso volition lone beryllium resumed aft each leakages person been traced and fixed, and aggregate tests are conducted to guarantee that determination is nary contamination left,” says Indore Divisional Commissioner Sudam Khade, who is starring the government’s efforts.

Newly appointed IMC Commissioner Kshitij Singhal says that much than 400 backstage borewells person been chlorinated and 87 person been disconnected.

A toilet astatine the section constabulary outpost built implicit the main h2o proviso line, which was initially suspected arsenic the root of contamination, has besides been dismantled. The toilet was operational without a septic tank.

Various teams from authorities agencies are trying to analyse aggregate aspects, including the causes of contamination, but determination is nary clarity connected this yet.

Many radical successful Indore are present frightened of h2o that comes done the corp pipeline. They are buying h2o oregon installing RO devices.

Power pummelling

The archetypal fingers aft the deaths were pointed astatine the IMC, dominated by the BJP. Additional Commissioner Rohit Sisoniya, who handled 8 departments, and Superintendent Engineer of its Public Health Engineering Department, Sanjeev Shrivastava, were suspended. The Commissioner, Dileep Yadav, was transferred retired of Indore.

Indore is the hometown of Madhya Pradesh’s Minister of Urban Development and Housing Kailash Vijayvargiya. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav had enactment himself in-charge of the territory since August, 2024. Bhagirathpura falls nether Vijayvargiya’s Indore-1 Assembly constituency.

A elder BJP insider successful Bhopal says, “The rivalry betwixt the 2 leaders is not a secret. The CM looks to asseverate dominance crossed the State portion Kailashji does not privation to cede his location turf astatine immoderate cost. In respective instances, the enactment precocious bid has had to intervene during disagreements betwixt them.” He adds that astir section elected leaders successful Indore are loyal to Vijayvargiya, portion elder officials are posted from Bhopal. He says that portion the 2 tussle, Indore suffers. Delays are portion of the disruption of citizens’ regular lives, says a councillor from a neighbouring ward. He claims helium moved from the Congress to the BJP up of the 2024 Lok Sabha predetermination to get projects cleared.

“From July 2022 (when the civic assemblage elections took place) and erstwhile I joined the BJP, I could lone get works worthy astir ₹35 lakh approved for my area. Since 2024, works of astir ₹18 crore person been cleared successful my ward. However, respective large projects are inactive pending arsenic officials bash not perceive to america oregon adjacent speech to america properly,” the councillor says. His notation to officials signals the Chief Minister’s appointees.

Mayor Bhargav, however, who is besides an elected representative, denies immoderate large tussle. “This is simply a precise tragic incidental for Indore and we instrumentality afloat motivation work for this. If determination are immoderate insignificant issues oregon connection gaps among us, we volition flooded them and enactment together, due to the fact that the precedence is to hole the shortcomings and guarantee that specified a calamity is ne'er repeated successful the city,” helium says.

Indore residents similar Mukesh Maurya though, are bushed of back-office politics. Maurya’s 72-year-old begetter suffered a cardiac apprehension allegedly owed to complications from the diarrhoea that deed truthful many. “My begetter has hardly survived. I ran from infirmary to infirmary due to the fact that cipher was consenting to admit him connected December 29,” helium says.

The bigger picture, helium feels is helium feels, is thing else. “As citizens, we enactment hard and wage taxes connected astir everything, but these politicians can’t adjacent supply america with cleanable h2o to drink. Are we asking for overmuch here?”

Edited by Sunalini Mathew