Indore, In Spotlight Over 20 Deaths, Allocated Rs 2,450 Crore For 'Clean' Water

Indore is facing one of its gravest civic and public health failures in recent memory, as at least 20 people have died and more than 3,200 have fallen ill after consuming contaminated drinking water in Bhagirathpura and adjoining areas of the city. Many patients are still battling for their lives in intensive care units, and hospitals continue to report fresh admissions, underlining that the crisis is far from over.

On Thursday alone, ten patients were shifted to the ICU, while a total of 446 people have been admitted since the outbreak began, with 50 still undergoing treatment. The fear of contamination has not subsided, and residents continue to live in anxiety over something as basic and essential as drinking water.

What makes the tragedy even more disturbing is the scale of public money that has been spent on Indore's water and sanitation infrastructure over the past five years. The Indore Municipal Corporation allocates nearly 25 to 30 per cent of its annual budget to water supply and sanitation. This spending has increased steadily from Rs 1,680 crore in 2021-22 to a proposed Rs 2,450 crore in 2025-26, even as the total IMC budget rose from Rs 5,135 crore to over Rs 8,200 crore in the same period.

In addition to this, thousands of crores of rupees have been invested through the Asian Development Bank, the AMRUT scheme and the Smart City Project, all aimed at upgrading the water supply system and ensuring 24-hour safe water. Yet despite this massive expenditure, contaminated water entered the city's pipelines and reached thousands of homes, raising serious questions about governance, monitoring, and institutional integrity.

Civil society groups have now stepped in to call the situation what the authorities have not. In a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Jan Swasthya Abhiyan India has termed the incident a "public health emergency" and demanded a guaranteed 24x7 supply of safe drinking water for all residents, along with a complete overhaul of the city's water supply system from source to distribution. The group has warned that cosmetic fixes and emergency repairs will not prevent similar disasters unless systemic failures are addressed.

The crisis has now moved into the legal domain as well. Bhagirathpura resident Ramoo Singh has filed a petition seeking registration of an FIR against officials responsible for the deaths caused by contaminated water. His lawyer, Dilip Nagar, has stated that the petition alleges residents have been consuming contaminated water for the past two years and demands that a case of culpable homicide be registered against the responsible officials. The petition also seeks the removal of all concerned officials from their posts until the investigation is completed, arguing that accountability cannot be ensured while those under suspicion remain in charge.

Since the contamination came to light on December 29, Bhagirathpura has been gripped by panic. Municipal Corporation vehicles are making repeated announcements urging people to filter and boil water before use, while ration kits are being distributed to families struggling to cope with the crisis. Even borewell and RO water is now being boiled and filtered out of fear. Drainage line repair work is underway across the locality, further disrupting daily life and affecting small businesses, which are already reeling from the loss of customers and footfall.