- Diarrhea outbreak in Bhagirathpura caused 21 to 35 deaths including a two-year-old child
- The child's parents faced delays activating Ayushman card, affecting her medical care
- She was treated for liver abscess and pneumonia but died after infection spread and seizures
In a city that prides itself on being India's cleanest, the stench of grief now hangs heavy over Bhagirathpura. Official records say 21 people have died in the diarrhea outbreak linked to contaminated water. Locals insist the number of dead is 35. Between those numbers lies the story of two-year-old Siya Prajapati, lovingly called Laddu, and a government health card that was activated two days after she died.
On Tuesday morning, about six hours after she was put on ventilator support at the Super Specialty Hospital in Indore, Laddu's small body gave up. For 15 days, her parents had carried her from one government hospital to another - Chacha Nehru Hospital, MY Hospital, and finally the Super Specialty wing chasing doctors, reports, referrals and hope. They were also chasing the activation of their Ayushman card.
Two days after her funeral, the call came that the Ayushman card had been successfully reactivated.
"What will I do with it now?" her father said on the phone, his voice breaking.
"I spent Rs 40,000 to Rs 45,000 at private clinics and on tests because there were technical issues with our Ayushman card. I complained twice to the CM helpline last week. On Wednesday, they said it's active. But I have lost my Gudiya forever. I am not saying this for compensation. I am saying this so no other family loses a child like this."
Siya had fallen ill on December 27, 2025, when acute diarrhea began sweeping through Bhagirathpura. Her mother and five-year-old brother recovered after treatment from private practitioners. But Laddu's condition worsened. What began as diarrhea spiralled into blood and liver complications. Her fever would not drop below 102-103 degree Fahrenheit. Her stomach bloated. She vomited relentlessly.
Her mother, Sonam Prajapati, who has already buried one son in 2018 and suffered two miscarriages, clutched her phone and showed a video of Laddu playing just hours before her death. Then she wept.
"I submitted my Aadhaar two days ago. We were anxious to get Ayushman done. We didn't know there would be so much difficulty... She won't come back. I don't want anything. I just want no mother to lose a child like this."
She alleged that when her daughter's condition deteriorated late Monday night, no specialist was available. "There were 10-12 children in the ICU and only one person on staff. The doctor would come in the morning and leave. They said our Ayushman card wasn't linked to Aadhaar. Because of Ayushman, they wouldn't even give us an X-ray copy. They sent it on the phone and said we would get a physical copy only if Ayushman was in place."
Hospital authorities maintain that Siya was treated for liver abscess and pneumonia. Dr Ashok Laddha, Head of Pediatric Surgery at MY Hospital, said the pus was drained through surgery but the infection spread, leading to seizures and her death.
But for her parents, the clinical explanation does little to fill the void in their one-room home. Siya is the second youngest child from Bhagirathpura to die after five-month-old Avyan Sahu.
Another resident, 76-year-old Shaligram Thakur, who had been on ventilator support for over 15 days, also died earlier this week. His family attributes his death to the outbreak; the health department says he had severe respiratory issues and was taken home against medical advice.
The numbers themselves are under dispute. While 35 deaths have been reported locally since the December outbreak, officials, citing the Death Audit Committee, have attributed only 16 to diarrhea.
A one-man commission headed by former high court judge Justice Sushil Chandra Gupta has now been appointed to probe the water contamination and its fallout.
When asked about the Prajapati family's allegations, Indore collector Shivam Verma said, "If that's true, we'll get it investigated. If there's any delay, we'll be strict."
But investigations take time. Commissions take time. Files move. Siya did not have time.
In a city celebrated for cleanliness awards and civic rankings, a mother now sits on the floor, holding a phone that still has her daughter's last video. An Ayushman card is activated in the system. A tailor who also drives an auto returns to work because survival allows no pause.
The outbreak may eventually be reduced to a statistic, debated between 21 and 35. But in Bhagirathpura, one number will not change the age of a little girl called Laddu, who died waiting for care in a system that responded just two days too late.
