Indore water contamination: Official suspended over reference to ‘ghanta’ row

Indore/Dewas: A sub-divisional magistrate in Madhya Pradesh’s Dewas district was suspended on Sunday for allegedly citing minister Kailash Vijayvargiya’s controversial remark and the Congress’ allegations in an official order amid the Indore water contamination crisis, officials said.

They said Ujjain Division Revenue Commissioner Ashish Singh suspended the SDM on charges of serious negligence, indifference and irregularities in the discharge of official duties.

The officials said that the SDM had issued an order on Saturday to deploy subordinate revenue staffers to maintain law and order in view of a Congress protest in Dewas on Sunday.

“However, the wording of a portion of the Congress memorandum was copied verbatim in the SDM’s order issued for official purposes. This amounts to serious negligence, a senior official told PTI.

The Congress memorandum had targeted the BJP government in the state over the Indore drinking water crisis and said minister Kailash Vijayvargiya’s use of the objectionable word ‘ghanta’ in response to a journalist’s question reflected “inhumanity and authoritarianism”.

The memorandum, citing instructions of state Congress president Jitu Patwari, said party workers would hold ‘ghanta’ protests against this “inhuman behaviour” by ringing bells outside the residences of BJP MPs and MLAs across the state.

The protest was organised against deaths linked to contaminated drinking water in Indore’s Bhagirathpura area and Vijayvargiya’s controversial remark to a TV journalist who questioned him about the tragedy.

Vijayvargiya, the state's Urban Development and Housing Minister, sparked a row on the night of December 31 by using the word ‘ghanta’ on camera when asked about the water contamination crisis. In common parlance, the term is broadly understood to mean “nonsense”.

The administration has confirmed six deaths so far due to the diarrhoea outbreak caused by contaminated water in the city. Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargav had said on January 2 that he had information about 10 deaths linked to the outbreak.

However, local residents have claimed that 16 people, including a six-month-old infant, have died due to the outbreak.