Indore: In a symbolic gesture Saturday, Indore district collector Shivam Verma drank water from a tanker to assure Bhagirathpura residents of the steps being taken by the administration to contain sewer leakage in their neighbourhood.
For the last eight days, officials and workers have been doing rounds after rounds to inspect homes, identify possible leakage sites, and locate drain chambers. Work has been carried out overnight to fix the leakages. Chlorination of water lines was intensified as well.
Temporary pipelines are providing water to households in areas where tankers cannot enter narrow lanes so that residents do not have to depend on private suppliers. On Friday, the High Court directed authorities to send more water tankers to affected areas to ensure smooth water supply.
These steps are being done in tandem with high-level meetings taking place regularly and all related departments such as health, PWD working together in the background. Additionally, municipal and district officials are meeting daily to review work. A workforce has already been mobilised, with control rooms monitoring the situation.
“Our teams are continuously working on the ground. Water lines are being tested across the area, chlorine dosing is being done at borewells, and ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers and ANMs are conducting door-to-door surveys,” Verma told ThePrint. “We are leaving no stone unturned in addressing every issue.”
But eight days after the outbreak of water contamination, there is still no clarity on the number of deaths. Cabinet minister Kailash Vijayvargiya distributed cheques of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of seven deceased persons while one family declined to accept the ex gratia amount.
Meanwhile, the collector’s office maintains that the toll is six. “So far, six deaths have been reported. A panel of senior doctors has been constituted to analyse each death, and any revision in the numbers will be made after their assessment,” Verma said.
As the administration deployed its entire men and machinery to check the water contamination, there is an undercurrent of sentiment that the corrective measures— be it mass surveys or pipeline inspections—began only after hospital admissions and fatalities.
While field staff continued round-the-clock work, senior officials faced questions over delayed action. In response, officials are frequently visiting hospitals and affected colonies to reach out to the people.
“The complaints were not taken seriously earlier, which is why the work was delayed,” a senior Indore official conceded to ThePrint. “But once cases began to be reported, officials from the district administration and municipal corporation reached Bhagirathpura and nearby areas. We spent nights locating the leakage, and staff were deployed door to door to identify the sick.”
On the health front, government hospitals were instructed to admit patients immediately. Extra beds were arranged, and doctors were placed on emergency duty as cases of waterborne disease rose. Ambulances were deployed to shift patients, while medicines, IV fluids and ORS were stocked in large numbers.
“Our priority is to identify people with diarrhoea and related symptoms early and ensure they are admitted and treated on time. At present, around 203 patients are undergoing treatment in hospitals,” Verma told ThePrint.
The administration continues surveys to identify patients. “On Friday alone, around 3,000 people were surveyed, and about 125 symptomatic patients were identified and provided treatment,” Verma said.
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Signs of intensive work
Mounds of earth can be seen all over Bhagirathpura as water supply and engineering officials have dug up roads to trace the source of contamination. Drinking water pipelines were checked across lanes, and several leakages were found close to sewer and drainage lines. A major leakage was detected near a police chowki toilet, which was later fixed.
“The officials came and visited three-four streets. Seniors were shouting at juniors, and everyone was blaming each other. An engineer scolded a corporation official and even threatened to suspend him, but he ended up being suspended,” Mohan Patil, a resident of Bhagirathpura, told ThePrint.
Six senior officials have been suspended in connection with the water contamination crisis. On Friday night, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav ordered the suspension of Indore Municipal Corporation additional commissioner, in-charge superintending engineer of Public Health Engineering, Commissioner of the Indore Municipal Corporation, which he announced on his official ‘X’ account.
इंदौर के भागीरथपुरा में दूषित पेयजल के कारण हुई घटना में राज्य सरकार लापरवाही बर्दाश्त नहीं करेगी। इस संबंध में कठोर निर्णय लिये जा रहे हैं। निगम के अपर आयुक्त रोहित सिसोनिया, पीएचई के प्रभारी अधीक्षण यंत्री संजीव श्रीवास्तव को निलंबित किया गया है। इंदौर नगर निगम आयुक्त दिलीप…
— Dr Mohan Yadav (@DrMohanYadav51) January 2, 2026
On the other hand, the government has posted three new additional commissioners in the Indore Municipal Corporation to strengthen administrative support and improve on-ground coordination.
“Additional commissioners have joined the field teams, and the entire municipal administration is working at full speed to stabilise the situation,” Verma said.
There are a total of 32 Swachchhata beats in Indore district under the municipal corporation. Officials of all these beats have been closely monitoring neighbourhoods and residents’ needs, including regular check-ups, availability of medicines and hospital admissions.
“Many departments are working in collaboration—Swachchhta, sewage and water supply teams—for more than 15 hours a day. A total of 150 people are working day and night, and five leaks were found during the cleaning of Narmada water lines,” an Indore civic official said, adding that water supply was stopped in affected areas.
For the past seven to eight days, health workers have also been working continuously, with doctors and nurses being shifted between hospitals roped in for emergency response.
“We are working round-the-clock. A total of 26 children were admitted to our hospital, including two cholera cases. We did not report a single death and now only 14 patients remain admitted, who will also be discharged soon,” Dr Anil Shakya of Chacha Nehru Hospital, Indore, told ThePrint.
(Edited by Tony Rai)