Many lives were lost due to contaminated water in Indore, apart from allegations and counter-allegations, protests, there is still lack of concrete action, even the culprit has not been decided.
Those narrow streets must have once been paved with cement. Now these streets are torn up due to digging. Excavation is going on with JCB at various places, red and blue water tankers are running on the roads, and the streets are filled with water and mud. This is Bhagirathpura area of Indore, where most of the people have been victims of vomiting and diarrhea in the past. Some are still admitted in the hospital and are hanging between life and death. Some have returned from the hospital and are trying to become normal. There is resentment among the people that even after so many deaths (the government figure is 21 till January 11), they are not getting the hearing or prompt action that should be taken. The process of arrival of leaders and officials continues, but the problem of water remains the same.
Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court heard the PILs filed on this entire issue on January 6. During this, the court made strict remarks on the government and the responsible officials. The division bench of Justice Vijay Kumar Shukla and Justice Alok Awasthi said that “the incident has damaged the image of Indore across the world.” The cleanest city of the country became a topic of discussion due to contaminated water. Clean water is a fundamental right of the citizens. It is sad that contaminated water is being distributed throughout the city.” The court directed that strict steps should be taken to ensure that such incidents do not happen again.
The High Court directed that arrangements for clean water should be made immediately. The court asked for immediate supply of clean water at government expense in the affected areas. Instructions were given to immediately stop using water from bad and contaminated pipelines, overhead tanks and borewells. The court also said that the state Chief Secretary Anurag Jain should present his case through video conferencing on January 15 for the next hearing and present a new detailed report because the work being done now is inadequate.
This is the seventh year that Indore has continuously won the title of the cleanest city in the country. The campaign to collect garbage in the streets is still going on. The roads look clean but beneath these clean roads, drainage and drinking water pipelines run together. At some places, the situation is such that Narmada water chambers are built immediately adjacent to or above the drainage chamber. This mistake proved fatal in Bhagirathpura. Here the water from the drainage line mixed with the Narmada pipeline and many people died due to the spread of severe cholera.
Raju Dhruvkar in front of his wife’s photo
70 year old Geetabai Dhruvkar is one of them. Geetabai leaves behind a son and husband. She and her husband worked as thread cutters in a local factory. His son says that the water looked clean, but had been smelling for several days. Then gradually the water started turning yellow and became muddy. Her husband Raju Dhruvkar says, “She only had asthma and had no other problems.” Consulted a local doctor before the vomiting and diarrhea worsened. He advised to take him to a government hospital. When there was no improvement even after being kept in the government MY Hospital (Maharaja Yashwant Rao Holkar) for two-three days, he was taken to the private Aurobindo Hospital. He died there.”
It has been 18 days since the dirty water created havoc but till now the situation has not improved. People are still angry. People are demanding that an FIR be registered under the section of culpable homicide (section 105, 106, 125, 127 of the Indian Penal Code) against the current Collector and then Municipal Commissioner Shivam Sharma, former Municipal Commissioner Dilip Kumar Yadav, suspended Additional Commissioner Rohit Sisonia and suspended Executive Engineer Sanjeev Srivastava.
Some people, on the condition of anonymity, say that the main reason for drainage water being found in the water is the police post built there. The toilet of the police post is located where the leak was first found. The waste line of the toilet was not properly connected to the drainage. This waste was being emptied into an open pit, which was directly above the drinking water pipeline, from there the sewage water got mixed with the drinking water. A local resident told Outlook, “Action should be taken against the people at the police post first. But nothing goes wrong with the police in India. My mother reached home a day early after fighting death. I can never forget his bad condition.”
The state government has constituted a committee to investigate the matter but the investigation is sluggish and the work very slow. Still, the biggest challenge before the Municipal Corporation is to completely replace the 25 kilometer water distribution pipeline. So far, work on a total of six kilometers of line has been done. At the pace at which work is being done, it does not seem that there will be relief any time soon. The population of more than 50 thousand of Bhagirathpura is dependent on 40 year old pipe lines. There was a long standing demand to replace these pipe lines. To replace the pipe lines, tenders were issued about 4 years ago to replace 14 kilometers of the line. But the process itself could not be completed.
The water crisis in Bhagirathpura has deepened due to dirty water. After supply of Narmada water, fecal coliform bacteria has been found in private and government boring water also. This is a dangerous bacteria, which causes diseases like cholera, typhoid and hepatitis A. After 35 out of 69 samples failed, the local administration has stopped boring in the entire area. Till now, more than 3000 patients are undergoing treatment for vomiting and diarrhea.
Now be careful: try to find leakage by digging
For the first time, patients suffering from vomiting and diarrhea were seen between 28-29 December. But before the reason for this could be understood and the administration could be alerted, the situation became serious. People kept drinking contaminated water for three days. There are more than 600 private and public borings in the entire area. Roma Devi, who lives here, says, “Since December 25, the water was smelling like a drain.” Complained but poor people are not heard anywhere. If poor people die, they die, who cares? My 3 year old child has diarrhea and fever. The medicine is working but it is not making any difference. We only trust God.
As happens after every incident, the round of allegations and counter-allegations continues. Madhya Pradesh Government Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya’s indecent comment on the media person’s question has almost destroyed the seriousness of the entire matter. The matter turned from the debate on polluted water to his statement. Vijayvargiya now refuses to comment of any kind. In his earlier statement he had simply said, “Around 1400 to 1500 people were affected, out of which 198 people are hospitalised.” Now two more people have been admitted. Some people have also been discharged.” He is also an MLA from this area. However, he spends two hours every morning in the area and takes stock of the arrangements. He has made arrangements for free treatment of the victims, which is reducing the resentment among the people towards them.
When Outlook wanted to talk to Indore city mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava on this entire issue, he simply said, “I am very sad that all this happened during my tenure.” Being the mayor, it is my responsibility. It was my moral responsibility.” Bhargava declined to comment further. He simply says, “The entire Municipal Corporation staff is deployed. We are trying our best to solve every problem. Soon everything will be fine and people will start getting clean water.
The anger of Kiran, who lives there, shows no sign of diminishing. She says, “We were complaining for two years. No one came to listen.” When he was asked, why didn’t you people protest? “No one is paying attention to the drainage line,” she says angrily. Let us agitate to go to earn. There are patients with vomiting and diarrhea in every house. What happens when treatment becomes free? We are drinking water by purchasing it from the market. Comes in a bottle of 120. Whom to say, the household budget is deteriorating.
Five month old Aavyan lost his life due to poisonous water
Every house has a story. The most tragic of all is Aavyan’s death. Aavyan was only five months old. Aavyan’s father, who lost the battle of life due to contaminated water, works as a courier. Ten years later, after great wishes, Aavyan was born. The family used to give the child outside milk along with mother’s milk, in which some water was mixed. Little did they know that the water they were using as pure would kill their child. On December 26, Avyan developed diarrhea and on the evening of December 29, Avyan died. Now Aavyan’s father wants strict action to be taken against the culprits.
Similarly, the mother of Sanjay Yadav, who worked in tailoring, also became a victim of contaminated water. His mother was 70 years old and on the evening of 26 December, she became so exhausted from vomiting and diarrhea that despite treatment, she died in less than 24 hours.
Among all these, there were some lucky people who returned home after treatment. When Anjali Soni was admitted to the hospital, she was very scared. Anjali says, “We made many complaints. but nothing happened. When the matter has escalated so much, then leaders and officers are making rounds every day. We are now buying water and drinking it. I don’t know how long it will take for clean water to come here. But by the grace of God, I came back from the hospital.” She points to the house opposite and tells, there is an uncle there, he is currently in the hospital. His kidney has failed. The aunty from the corner house is still in the hospital.
Someone’s child is admitted there, someone’s mother and someone’s husband. A person standing in the crowd asks, “City Administration Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya is now admitting that a mistake has been made, but what will happen if he admits.” Those whose family members have passed away are being given a check of Rs 2 lakh. The value of a man is only two lakhs in the eyes of the government.” The area of Indore where contaminated water has taken so many lives, Bhagirathpura falls in Indore Assembly Constituency 1. Kailash Vijayvargiya of Bharatiya Janata Party is the MLA from here. He is also the Municipal Administration Minister, under whom Indore Municipal Corporation comes. The corporation is responsible for the supply of water.
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After the rising death toll, Vijayvargiya had told a media house, “This incident is unfortunate. This is the fault of the officers and employees of the Municipal Corporation zone. As soon as it was known about the contaminated water supply, there should have been an announcement that the public should not use that water. Water should have been supplied by tanker. Those who were negligent have been suspended.
Madhya Pradesh Congress President Jitu Patwari raised this issue loudly. He alleged that even in the cleanest city, people are not getting clean water. Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee has also formed an inquiry committee in this matter, in which MLAs including the former minister have been included. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav also visited different hospitals on December 31 and inquired about the well-being of the people.
There is a meme circulating on the incident in Indore, which tells that Indore will have to work very hard to regain its shine. The meme reads, “Water is injurious to health, please drink it neat – Madya Pardes Sarkar.”
It is very sad that all this happened during my tenure. Being the mayor, it is my responsibility. I take moral responsibility for this. Pushyamitra Bhargava Mayor, Indore
Photo: Jayesh Malviya
