Indore water contamination: Death toll hits 10, over 1,400 fall ill
At least 10 people have died and 1,400 have fallen ill after drinking water was contaminated by a pipeline leak in Indore’s Bhagirathpura area
The death toll in the Indore water contamination incident has reached 10, city Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava said on Friday (January 2), a day after a laboratory test report from a city medical college revealed that the drinking water from the locality was contaminated due to a leakage in a pipeline. It further stated that the contamination has affected over 1,400 people in Indore.
“According to health department data, four people have died due to the diarrhoea outbreak in Bhagirathpura. However, I have received information about 10 deaths due to this outbreak,” Bhargava told PTI.
However, residents put the death toll at 14, including a six-month-old infant, who died due to the health crisis. The health department has not confirmed this claim.
What the lab report said
As for the suspected cholera spread in the area based on preliminary test reports of drinking water samples collected from Bhagirathpura, the mayor said only the health department could provide information on the matter.
Earlier on Thursday, the Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) Dr Madhav Prasad Hasani said that laboratory test reports from a city medical college had confirmed that the drinking water from the locality was contaminated due to a leakage in a pipeline.
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The test findings substantiated that a life-threatening drinking water supply system prevails in parts of Madhya Pradesh’s commercial capital, which has been ranked India’s cleanest city for the last eight years.
The CMHO, however, did not share the detailed findings of the report. Administrative officials have also been avoiding giving clear information about it.
Over 1,400 affected by vomiting, diarrhoea
Officials said a leakage was found in the main drinking water supply pipeline near a police outpost in Bhagirathpura, at a spot over which a toilet has been constructed. They claimed the leakage led to contamination of the water supply.
More than 1,400 people have been affected by vomiting and diarrhoea in Bhagirathpura over the past nine days.
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A health department official, citing the situation till Thursday night, said that 272 patients were admitted to hospitals in the area, of whom 71 have been discharged.
The official said 32 of the 201 patients currently hospitalised are undergoing treatment in intensive care units.
Administration monitoring situation
Additional Chief Secretary Sanjay Dubey told PTI, “We are closely examining the entire drinking water supply pipeline in Bhagirathpura to find out if there is any leakage elsewhere.”
He said after inspection, clean water was supplied to households in Bhagirathpura through the pipeline on Thursday, though as a precaution, people have been advised to use the water for drinking only after boiling it.
(With agency inputs)