'Water contamination' deaths: Cong seeks culpable homicide FIR against Indore mayor, civic chief

Indore (MP), Dec 30 (PTI) The Congress on Tuesday demanded that a case of culpable homicide be filed against Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava and the municipal commissioner over the death of at least three persons allegedly due to consumption of contaminated water in the city.

The Congress suspected that some "poisonous substance" might have been mixed into the pipeline supplying drinking water, and called for a thorough investigation.

Officials said that 111 patients have been admitted to various hospitals over the past five days following an outbreak of vomiting and diarrhoea in the Bhagirathpura area of Indore, the cleanest city of India.

Mayor Bhargava has confirmed that three persons died due to the outbreak, while local residents claimed that five people, including four women, have died after falling ill after consuming contaminated water.

State Congress president Jitu Patwari visited a private hospital in the city and enquired about the health of people who fell ill after drinking contaminated water.

Addressing reporters, Patwari said, "If drainage water mixes with drinking water pipelines, people can suffer from vomiting, diarrhoea and jaundice, but they do not die from it. It appears that some kind of poisonous substance had mixed into the drinking water pipeline and this needs to be investigated." Holding the mayor and the municipal commissioner responsible for the incident, he said a culpable homicide case should be registered against both of them.

Patwari pointed out that Bhagirathpura, where at least three people have died due to contaminated drinking water, falls under Indore-1 assembly constituency represented by state Urban Development and Housing Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya.

Targeting the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he said, "The BJP is in power in the Indore Municipal Corporation as well as at the state and the Centre. It is a matter of concern for the people of Indore what conditions the city has come to under the BJP's triple-engine government." However, state BJP spokesperson Alok Dubey condemned Patwari's statement, saying he was being insensitive and engaging in "deliberate politics" over an unfortunate incident.

He added that Chief Minister Mohan Yadav had already instructed officials to provide all possible assistance to the victims of the contaminated water incident.

Indore depends on the Narmada river for its water needs, with water being supplied to homes through pipelines laid by the municipal corporation from Jalud in neighbouring Khargone district, about 80 km away.

The civic body claimed it has identified a fault in the water supply pipeline in the Bhagirathpura area.

Talking to reporters, Municipal Commissioner Dilip Kumar Yadav said, "We found a leakage in the main water supply pipeline at a place in Bhagirathpura, over which a toilet has been constructed. Repair work is underway." Meanwhile, Mayor Bhargava directed the municipal commissioner to probe the incident.

He said, "A tender for laying a new water supply pipeline in the Bhagirathpura area had been issued months ago. Why was there a delay in this work? An impartial inquiry should be conducted to ascertain the reasons for negligence." Bhargava assured that strict action would be taken against those found responsible for the contaminated drinking water incident. PTI HWP LAL NP