Indore Water Contamination: 13 Deaths Reported, Official Toll Stuck at Four

Indore: Even as residents report a rising number of deaths due to the consumption of contaminated drinking water in Indore, the Madhya Pradesh administration continues to deny and understate the toll, drawing sharp criticism from the affected locality.

In Bhagirathpura, where cases of diarrhoea and vomiting surfaced about a week ago, local residents said 13 people, including a six-month-old infant, have died after consuming polluted water. However, the state government has acknowledged only four deaths so far. The gap between official claims and ground-level accounts widened further when Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava cited seven deaths, contradicting the Chief Minister’s figure.

The refusal of the authorities to present a clear and consistent account has triggered anger among residents, who accuse the administration of attempting to suppress the actual scale of the tragedy.

Officials have admitted that a leakage in the drinking water pipeline allowed drainage water to mix with the supply, leading to contamination in Bhagirathpura. The area falls under the Indore-1 Assembly constituency, represented by Urban Development and Housing Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya.

Addressing the media, Vijayvargiya said 1,400 to 1,500 people were affected by the outbreak, with around 200 patients hospitalised. While claiming that those admitted were now out of danger, he conceded that information from within the locality pointed to eight to nine deaths, directly contradicting the administration’s official figure of four.

According to a statement from the office of the Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO), nearly 8,000 houses have been surveyed so far, covering close to 40,000 people. The survey identified 2,456 suspected patients. A total of 212 people were hospitalised, of whom 50 have been discharged. At present, 162 patients remain under treatment, including 26 in intensive care units.

Despite these figures, the government has so far failed to officially revise the death toll. Vijayvargiya said the matter would be “verified” and that compensation would be provided if higher numbers were confirmed.

Meanwhile, Additional Chief Secretary Sanjay Dubey visited the affected area along with officials. Water supply to Bhagirathpura was restored on Thursday after repairs were carried out on the damaged pipeline, and water samples collected from households have been sent for laboratory testing.

Residents, however, continue to demand accountability for the negligence that led to the contamination, alleging that the administration’s priority appears to be limiting the reported death toll rather than acknowledging the human cost of the failure.