Indore, ranked India’s cleanest city for the eighth consecutive year, is facing a serious civic emergency after contaminated tap water triggered a widespread outbreak of diarrhoea and vomiting in the Bhagirathpura area. At least seven people have died and more than 1,100 residents have fallen ill.
Indore Municipal Corporation commissioner Dilip Kumar Yadav said a leak was found in the main water supply pipeline, above which a toilet had been constructed, raising the risk of sewage contaminating drinking water. Officials said waste from the toilet flowed into a pit located directly over the pipeline, and a loose joint may have allowed sewage to seep into the water supply.
Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava confirmed that seven deaths were reported within a week after residents consumed contaminated water. Over the past week, more than 1,100 people were affected, with 111 requiring hospitalisation.
Madhya Pradesh minister Kailash Vijayvargiya acknowledged administrative lapses and said strict action would be taken against those responsible, regardless of rank. Bhagirathpura falls under the Indore-1 assembly constituency, which he represents. While calling the incident a mistake, he said the immediate focus should be on patient recovery.
Emergency measures included deploying four ambulances and dedicated medical teams, with special wards set up at the government-run Maharaja Yashwantrao Hospital and the private Shri Aurobindo Institute of Medical Sciences. Private hospitals were assured that the state government would bear the full treatment cost.
Chief minister Mohan Yadav, who reviewed the situation in Indore, described it as an “emergency-like” scenario. He said around 40,000 residents were screened, identifying 2,456 suspected cases. Of 212 hospitalised patients, 50 have been discharged, while most of the remaining patients are stable.
The chief minister announced ₹2 lakh compensation for each bereaved family and free treatment for all patients. The IMC has begun flushing affected pipelines and supplying water through tankers, while ASHA workers are conducting door-to-door surveys to detect new cases.
Amid discrepancies in reported figures, the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court directed the state government and the municipal corporation to compile data and submit a detailed status report by January 2, while ensuring immediate supply of safe drinking water and the best possible medical care to affected residents.
