Indore water contamination: No consensus on death toll as locals, CM & Mayor offer different figures

Indore (MP): Conflicting claims over the number of deaths caused by consumption of contaminated water in Indore continued on Thursday, with residents claiming 13 fatalities, a day after Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav put the toll at four, while the city Mayor said seven persons lost life.

Cases of people suffering from diarrhoea and vomiting were first reported in the Bhagirathpura area of the city a week back. Local residents claimed that 13 people, including a six-month-old child, have died so far, while officials said only four deaths have been confirmed.

After visiting the affected area on Wednesday, CM Yadav pegged the death toll at four. Hours later, Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava confirmed seven deaths.

The confusion over the death toll still continues due to these different numbers.

Officials said a preliminary assessment indicated that drainage water entered the drinking water pipeline due to leakage, triggering the outbreak in Bhagirathpura.

Bhagirathpura falls under the Indore-1 assembly constituency of state Urban Development and Housing Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya.

Talking to reporters, Vijayvargiya said 1,400 to 1,500 people were affected by the outbreak, of whom around 200 were admitted to hospitals.

All the admitted patients were out of danger and were being discharged continuously as their condition improved.

On the varying death figures, Vijayvargiya said, "Administrative officials have informed me that four people have died due to this outbreak, but there is information here (in Bhagirathpura) about eight to nine deaths. We will verify this information and if it is found to be correct, financial assistance will be provided to the families of the deceased as announced by CM Mohan Yadav." Meanwhile, Additional Chief Secretary Sanjay Dubey visited the Bhagirathpura area along with local officials to review the situation.

Officials said water supply was restored in Bhagirathpura on Thursday after repairing the leakage in the drinking water pipeline, and water samples were collected from households and sent for testing.