Daijiworld Media Network - Indore
Indore, Jan 4: Bhagirathpura, a locality in Indore — often showcased as India’s cleanest city — witnessed sharp political confrontation on Saturday after a deadly diarrhoeal outbreak linked to contaminated water supply claimed several lives, triggering outrage and blame games between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress.
A Congress fact-finding team constituted to probe the deaths reached the affected area to meet grieving families, but was stopped by BJP supporters, who raised slogans and waved black flags. The Congress delegation included former MLA and ex-minister Sajjan Singh Verma, and sitting MLAs Pratap Grewal and Mahesh Parmar.
Tensions quickly escalated as Congress supporters shouted “Ghanta Party Murdabad,” referring to a recent controversy involving local BJP MLA and cabinet minister Kailash Vijayvargiya, while BJP workers countered with slogans of “Bahari log wapas jao” (outsiders go back). With both sides coming face to face, police intervened and escorted the Congress leaders out of the locality to prevent further escalation.
Even as the standoff unfolded in Indore, Congress activists staged a protest outside the Bhopal residence of Indore-1 MLA and state Urban Administration and Housing Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya.
State Congress president Jitu Patwari, who hails from Indore, demanded Vijayvargiya’s resignation and sought the registration of an FIR against Indore mayor and BJP leader Pushyamitra Bhargava.
“The loss of innocent lives due to contaminated water is a result of complete systemic failure. Merely removing the Indore municipal commissioner and suspending officials is not enough. Accountability also lies with the local MLA, the urban administration minister, and the mayor,” Patwari said.
Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar cited a 2019 Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report to underline persistent problems in Indore and Bhopal’s water supply systems. He said the report exposed serious deficiencies and corruption but no corrective action was taken.
According to the CAG findings, out of 9.41 lakh households in the two cities, only 5.30 lakh had tap connections at the time. Municipal corporations reportedly took between 22 and 182 days to address water leakage complaints. Between 2013 and 2018, as many as 4,481 water samples failed physical, chemical and bacteriological tests, with no clear record of remedial measures.
Singhar further claimed that an independent investigation found contamination in 10 out of 54 water samples, exposing nearly 8.95 lakh people in Indore and Bhopal to polluted water. During this period, the health department reportedly recorded 5.45 lakh cases of waterborne diseases.
The outbreak has not only exposed cracks in Indore’s civic infrastructure but has also intensified political tempers, with accountability and public health emerging as key fault lines.