Indore on Alert after Water Contamination Detected

• Written by Leena Khowal

  Reviewed by Akhil Pillai

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Indore, long celebrated as India’s cleanest city, is now facing a severe public health emergency after water contamination in the Bhagirathpura area led to multiple deaths and widespread illness.

According to officials of the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC), the contamination originated from a toilet constructed at a police outpost. Instead of being connected to a proper septic tank, the toilet’s waste line reportedly drains into an open pit directly above a drinking water pipeline. This design flaw allowed sewage to seep into the water supply, polluting it over time, a Times of India report stated.

Following reports of deaths and hospitalisations on December 29, IMC Officials inspected the area and found the serious construction lapses at the police outpost toilet in Bhagirathpura. Instead of a septic tank, the waste line reportedly emptied into a pit, posing a direct risk to the nearby water pipeline. Officials believe this allowed contaminated water to mix with the drinking supply and spread across the locality.

At least 16 people have died, while more than 1,400 residents have fallen ill. Many patients remain hospitalised, with several still fighting for their lives.

Some patients have reportedly developed Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), a rare autoimmune disorder in which the immune system attacks the nerves, often triggered by gastrointestinal infections. Around 10% of GBS patients may not survive, while many others face long-term disability. Treatment involves costly intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy, with expenses reaching ₹10–15 lakh per patient.

Anger among residents continues to grow. “So many of us lost our lives because there was negligence while constructing a police toilet? This is shocking. A case should be registered, and someone should be held accountable,” said a resident, Ashok Pathi.

Many residents are demanding that a case of culpable homicide be registered against the contractor responsible, even though officials admit that identifying the original builder may be challenging.

Community health expert Amulya Nidhi of Jan Swasthya Abhiyan India (JSAI) said the crisis in Bhagirathpura has gone beyond physical illness and reflects a deeper psychological and systemic failure.

He refers to the 2019 CAG report, as reported by NDTV, which stated that 5.45 lakh cases of waterborne diseases occurred in Bhopal and Indore alone, as reported by NDTV. Nidhi also alleges that at least 50,000 cases of diarrhoea and waterborne illness occur in each district every year.

He also pointed out that the Madhya Pradesh government had taken a $200 million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for water management with strict conditions. One of those conditions was water audits every 15 days and regular water quality testing - conditions that appear to have been ignored. He also demanded that district-wise data on waterborne diseases across all 52 districts be made public under the Public Health Act.