Indore water contamination: Residents "no longer trust" water supply as crisis deepens

Indore (Madhya Pradesh) [India], January 2 (ANI): Gabbar Lashkari, a resident of Bhagirathpura in Madhya Pradesh's Indore, narrated the troubles his family has faced amid the water contamination crisis that has claimed at least four lives, saying that people in the area have lost trust in water provided by the municipal corporation and are now forced to buy drinking water.
Speaking to ANI, Lashkari said, "We had been complaining about dirty water for many days, but no one was listening. My daughter Kanak Lashkari is 15 years old and is admitted to the hospital. My mother is 93 years old. She fell ill on the 24th. She has been treated and is now fine."
"Now we buy water to drink and for other uses. We take water from the government borewell. Municipal corporation tankers are supplying drinking water, but we are now scared to drink it. We no longer trust it. In the name of development, destruction is being done," he added.
The chaos over the contaminated water crisis in Indore's Bhagirathpura has claimed at least four lives and left several ill.
Another resident, Durgadas Maurya, however, said that the municipal corporation supplies drinking water through tankers in the morning, while water for other uses is provided from a government borewell. "This water is clean," he said.
Meanwhile, in an emotional attempt to save their mother-in-law, a daughter and a daughter-in-law confronted local councillor Kamal Waghela and later ran after Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya's car, but the minister's convoy did not stop.
Pinky Yadav said, "My mother, Ramlali Yadav, is admitted to the hospital. Her condition is serious. No one is listening to us."
Daughter-in-law Nidhi Yadav said, "Everyone in our house has fallen ill due to dirty water. The government is giving Rs 2 lakh, but that will not bring our mother-in-law back."
Speaking to ANI, local councillor Kamal Waghela said, "From the day people started falling ill, we have been supplying Narmada water through tankers every morning. People were scared, so we arranged water from another tank and distributed it. It will take time for people's trust to return. When I won the election three years ago, I had demanded that the drainage and Narmada pipeline infrastructure be changed.
Here, the drainage line is above, and the Narmada water pipeline is below. As a result, the Narmada pipeline has corroded."
"The responsibility of the Narmada water lies with municipal officer Sanjeev Shrivastava. Even though the tender for the new pipeline had been completed, he had stopped work for six months. Officers do not work quickly. It has been six days, but the reason behind the mixing of drainage and Narmada water has still not been found," he added.
Earlier, Indore Collector Shivam Verma said the initial report suggests water contamination, while authorities continue to assess the situation on the ground.
"The initial report indicates that the water is contaminated, but we are gathering more information. We have admitted 13 patients. Our survey team is going door-to-door to check for symptoms among people. We are distributing chlorine tablets everywhere," Verma said.
He added that the situation is being closely monitored.
"Currently, a total of 201 patients are admitted, combining both private and government facilities, and a total of 71 people have been discharged. The number of patients has decreased, but we are keeping an eye on the situation, and whoever is found infected is being treated," he said.
Verma further stated that the state government has assured full support to the affected families.
"As per the Chief Minister's instructions, free treatment will be provided to the victims, and if they have deposited any money, it will be refunded," he added.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognisance of the incident following reports of multiple deaths linked to contaminated water in the area.
"Reportedly, the residents had been complaining about the supply of contaminated water for several days, but the authorities took no action," the NHRC said in a statement, seeking a detailed report from the Madhya Pradesh Chief Secretary within two weeks. (ANI)