Nobody in Bhagirathpura, a neighborhood of Indore, could say how many neighbors had died. By Friday, January 2, 2026, the answer depended on who was asked.
Local residents said 14 people had died from drinking contaminated water, a six-month-old infant among them. Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava told PTI that health department data showed four deaths, though he had received information about 10. The Daily Jagran put the toll at 15 after one more person died on Thursday. The health department has not confirmed the residents’ figure.
How it started
People in the area began falling ill on Monday, when more than 150 residents came down with sickness. Eight had died by Tuesday. The Daily Jagran said nearly 2,800 patients have since been identified, and 201 were in hospitals, 32 of them in intensive care in critical condition. Siasat, citing a health department official, said more than 1,400 people had suffered vomiting and diarrhoea over nine days, and that 272 patients had been admitted at some point and 71 discharged.
Lab reports from MGM Medical College and the municipal corporation’s own lab found E. coli and Shigella, bacteria carried in human feces, in water supplied to Bhagirathpura as Narmada water. Collector Shivam Verma confirmed the findings, according to Jagran.com. Chief Medical and Health Officer Dr Madhav Prasad Hasani said the tests traced the contamination to a pipeline leak. He did not share the detailed findings.
Officials said the leak was in the main drinking water line near a police outpost, at a spot where a toilet had been built over the pipe.
The political fallout
Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said on Wednesday that contamination from a leak had been established, and promised action against negligence. The state announced Rs 2 lakh in aid for the families of the dead. Cabinet Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya handed over cheques to four of those families on Thursday. Residents complained that the government was undercounting the dead, and Vijayvargiya conceded the real number could be higher. He also set off a row that day by using the word “ghanta”, loosely nonsense, when a TV journalist asked him about the contamination.
Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, went further on X. “Not water, but poison was distributed in Indore, and the administration remained in deep slumber,” he wrote. He asked why complaints about dirty, smelly water had gone unheard, and when officers and leaders would face action. “Clean water isn’t a favour, it’s a right to life,” he said.
Sources
- Bhaskar Morning Brief: 14 dead after consuming contaminated water in Indore; India, Pakistan exchange lists of nuclear installations, prisoners
- Indore Water Contamination Report Concludes Presence Of Human Feces As Death Toll Rises To 14
- Indore water contamination: Locals allege 14 deaths, Mayor says 10
Sources
- 14 dead after consuming contaminated water in Indore; India…
- Indore Water Contamination Report Concludes Presence Of Human…
