Saturday, 03 January 2026
Saturday, 03 January 2026
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has called the Indore water contamination crisis a failure of governance and accountability of the BJP-led Madhya Pradesh government.
“In Indore, there was no water—just poison being distributed, while the administration slumbered like Kumbhakarna. Mourning has spread from home to home, the poor are helpless—and to top it off, arrogant statements from BJP leaders. Those whose hearths have gone cold needed solace; the government served up hubris instead," Rahul wrote on X Friday.
Rahul said residents had repeatedly complained about dirty, foul-smelling water but the administration failed to act.
He questioned how sewage was allowed to mix with drinking water, why the supply was not shut off in time, and when action would be taken against the officers and leaders responsible.
The Congress Lok Sabha MP said that access to clean water is a right to life.
"And for the murder of this right, the BJP's double-engine government, its negligent administration, and its callous leadership are entirely responsible," Rahul said.
Rahul also linked the Indore incident to other cases in Madhya Pradesh, calling the state an epicentre of misgovernance.
He cited deaths linked to cough syrup and reports of rats in government hospitals killing children, adding that “every time the poor die, Modi, as always, remains silent.”
RJD MP Manoj Jha also criticised the government’s response, saying, “Innocent children lost their lives. For the government, it may be just a number, but families have lost their loved ones. Moreover, a minister’s behaviour regarding this issue was insensitive. There is no accountability left, the focus is on headline management to divert the issue.”
Indore, India’s cleanest city according to a study by the Centre, is now facing a public health emergency after a diarrhoea outbreak linked to contaminated drinking water in the Bhagirathpura area.
Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava said on Friday that he had information about 10 deaths caused by the diarrhoea outbreak in Bhagirathpura.
“According to health department data, four people have died due to the diarrhoea outbreak in Bhagirathpura. However, I have received information about 10 deaths due to this outbreak,” Bhargava told PTI.
Chief medical and health officer Dr Madhav Prasad Hasani said laboratory test reports from a city medical college confirmed that the drinking water in the area was contaminated due to a leakage in a pipeline.
Purnima Kaushal, a resident of Bhagirathpura, said, “The drainage problem is so severe that if the sewer gets clogged, the entire area gets flooded with sewage. The whole gutter line behind the houses is overflowing. The smell is so bad that my children have fallen ill from vomiting. Sewage water is mixed with the drinking water. Just 10 days ago, the water was so bitter that it tasted like it had too much medicine in it.”
Officials have earlier said a leakage was found in the main drinking water supply pipeline near a police outpost in Bhagirathpura, at a spot over which a toilet has been constructed. They said the leakage led to contamination of the water supply in the area.
