Bhopal: The contaminated drinking water crisis in Indore’s Bhagirathpura locality has now claimed 11 lives and left more than 1,400 residents ill, exposing what many officials and residents are now calling a preventable tragedy rooted in negligence.
What was initially termed an “unfortunate contamination” in India’s officially cleanest city has unfolded into a grim story of ignored warnings, delayed action and administrative failure.
Investigators have traced the contamination to a leak in the main water supply pipeline near a public toilet beside the Bhagirathpura police outpost, where officials believe sewage seeped directly into the drinking water line.
Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav confirmed on Wednesday that the leak and subsequent contamination had been verified. Urban Administration Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya also acknowledged that sewage likely entered the drinking system at the identified point.
Medical reports have now officially backed this conclusion.
Chief Medical and Health Officer Dr Madhav Hasani stated that water samples tested at MGM Medical College confirmed that residents fell critically ill — and several died — after consuming contaminated water.
A Disaster Waiting To Happen
Sources revealed that a tender to replace the old Bhagirathpura pipeline was floated as early as August 2025 for ₹2.4 crore, specifically citing complaints of foul-smelling and dirty water.
But no work began.
No emergency action.
No repair.
The tender was only opened after people began dying.
“This is not failure. This is abandonment,”
a senior water department official said anonymously.
Indore’s Big Water Projects — But Gaps On Ground
Under the AMRUT 2.0 Mission, Indore received ₹1,700 crore in 2023–24 for water infrastructure upgrades.
- Package 1 (₹579 crore) — Intake well, treatment plant, pipeline — awarded
- Remaining packages worth ₹1,200 crore — covering trunk lines, distribution systems and overhead tanks — still stuck in tendering
Meanwhile, aging pipelines in older neighbourhoods remain vulnerable.
Complaints Ignored, Residents Speak Out
Officials within the Water Resources Department admit the problem is not isolated — there are multiple points in the city where sewage and drinking water lines intersect, especially in older zones like Bhagirathpura.
Residents say they complained repeatedly, but no action ever followed.
Preeti Sharma, a local resident, said:
“We kept reporting the foul smell in water. No one took it seriously.”
Another resident, Omprakash, displayed bottles of muddy, stinking tap water:
“They kept fighting over contracts. Meanwhile, sewage kept entering our homes through our taps.”
Human Rights Body Steps In
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognizance of the incident and issued a notice to the Madhya Pradesh Chief Secretary, demanding a detailed report within two weeks.
If confirmed, the NHRC said, this amounts to a serious violation of human rights, especially since authorities allegedly ignored repeated complaints before the deaths.
A three-member probe panel has been formed, and some junior officials have been suspended, but the administration has yet to answer crucial questions:
- Why wasn’t the pipeline repaired earlier?
- Why were tenders delayed?
- Why was action taken only after deaths began?
For now, Bhagirathpura mourns, carries fear in every glass of water, and waits for accountability.