Water contamination deaths: Indore commissioner removed, 2 officials suspended

Indore: Under fire over the death of at least four persons due to water contamination in Bhagirathpura area here, the Madhya Pradesh government on Friday shunted out the Indore municipal commissioner and suspended two senior officials.

The health crisis was now under control due to the emergency measures taken, and there was "no abnormal increase in fresh cases," the BJP government told the High Court earlier in the day.

In a post on X following a review meeting on the issue, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said his government will not tolerate any laxity which might have led to the tragedy, and strict action was being taken.

He had ordered the "removal" (transfer) of municipal commissioner Dilip Kumar Yadav, and the suspension of additional municipal commissioner Rohit Sissoniya and in-charge superintendent engineer of Public Health Engineering department Sanjeev Shrivastava, the CM said.

Earlier on Friday, the government submitted a 40-page status report before the High Court, in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Ritesh Inani.

The outbreak of diarrheal illness due to contaminated water supply is now under effective control, with continuous minute to minute monitoring in place to prevent any resurgence, the government said.

Out of the 294 patients admitted across various facilities since the outbreak began, 93 patients have been successfully treated and discharged. Out of the remaining 201 patients, 32 were at present admitted to the Intensive Care Unit, the report said.

The report put the death toll due to the diarrheal outbreak at four, but Mayor of Indore Pushyamitra Bhargava said he had received information about 10 deaths.

On the ground, a joint survey team comprising officials from the district administration, municipal corporation and the Health Department is conducting door to door screenings.

These teams are identifying new cases and distributing preventive ORS sachets and Zinc tablets to residents to stop symptoms from escalating.

The report countered the allegation in the PIL that victims were left unaided, and highlighted a directive issued on December 30 which mandated that all private hospitals must provide entirely free treatment, including diagnostics and medicines, to all affected persons, not refuse admission to any patient from the affected area, and above all charge no fees, with the State Government guaranteeing full reimbursement to the private facilities.

While acknowledging that "no amount of monetary assistance can ever compensate for the loss of human life," the state has distributed ex gratia assistance of Rs 2,00,000 to the families of the deceased as an immediate supportive measure.

During the review meeting, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav had ordered issuance of show-cause notices to the municipal commissioner and additional commissioner.

Senior BJP leader Uma Bharti targeted her party's government over the deaths, asking it to do a "severe atonement" for the "sin", and seeking "maximum punishment to all the culprits - from bottom to top".

Terming the episode as chief minister Yadav's "testing time" as it has "tarnished" the state, the former CM said an apology was owed to the victims.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi targeted the BJP's "double-engine" government in Madhya Pradesh over the tragedy, claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is always silent whenever poor die.

Gandhi alleged that Madhya Pradesh has become the epicentre of misgovernance and cited various instances of casualties reportedly due to cough syrups, poor hygiene at government hospitals and now due to contaminated water.

"Every home is filled with mourning, the poor are helpless - and on top of that, BJP leaders are making arrogant statements. Those who lost their lives and livelihoods needed solace; the government offered arrogance," he said.

Senior MP cabinet minister Kailash Vijayvargiya on Thursday triggered a controversy after he used an objectionable word on camera — ghanta (loosely translating to nonsense) — when questioned by a TV journalist about the water contamination incident.

In a post on X, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said PM Modi keeps talking about his government's Jal Jeevan Mission, but was silent on deaths caused by contaminated water in Indore, the country's "cleanest city".