Indore man claims his infant son died of diarrhoea caused by contaminated drinking water

Indore, Dec 31 (PTI) An Indore-based man on Wednesday said his six-month-old son died two days ago due to vomiting and diarrhoea caused by an outbreak linked to contaminated drinking water, which has claimed the lives of at least seven persons till now.

Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava has confirmed the death of seven persons so far, while local residents claimed that nine individuals, including a six-month-old child and six women, have succumbed within a week after falling ill from drinking contaminated water in Bhagirathpura area.

The mayor has not disclosed the identity of the deceased persons.

Talking to reporters, Bhagirathpura resident Sunil Sahu said his six-month-old son Avyan developed symptoms of vomiting and diarrhoea a few days ago and was taken to a paediatrician.

"On the advice of the doctor, medicines were being given to my son at home. We bought milk from the market and started feeding it to him. Since the milk was thick, we were mixing it with the water that comes through the municipal corporation's tap connection," he said.

Sahu claimed that his son started suffering from vomiting and diarrhoea due to contaminated drinking water and died on December 29.

Officials said that over the past one week, more than 1,100 people have been affected in some form by the vomiting and diarrhoea outbreak in Bhagirathpura, of whom around 150 patients were hospitalised.

Preliminary findings suggest that drainage wastewater entered the drinking water pipeline due to leakage, leading to the outbreak in Bhagirathpura. PTI HWP LAL NP