Indore, Jan 27 (PTI) The Madhya Pradesh government on Tuesday told the MP High Court that the deaths of 16 people in Indore’s Bhagirathpura area was possibly linked to a month-long outbreak of vomiting and diarrhoea caused by contaminated drinking water.
The outbreak in Bhagirathpura began late December, and local residents have claimed at least 28 lives so far.
A division bench of Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi is hearing two separate public interest litigations (PILs) filed simultaneously regarding the deaths of several people in Bhagirathpura due to the consumption of contaminated water.
The state government presented an audit report of 23 deaths from the current gastroenteritis epidemic in Bhagirathpura before the bench, suggesting that 16 of these fatalities may have been linked to the outbreak of vomiting and diarrhoea caused by contaminated drinking water.
The report, prepared by a committee of five experts from the city’s Government Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College, stated that the deaths of four people in Bhagirathpura were unrelated to the outbreak, while no conclusion could be reached regarding the cause of death of three other people in the area.
During the hearing, the high court sought to know from the state government the scientific basis behind its report.
The division bench also expressed surprise at the state government’s use of the term “verbal autopsy” in relation to the report, sarcastically stating that it had heard the term for the first time.
During arguments in the high court, Ajay Bagadia, the lawyer representing one of the petitioners, questioned the report and claimed that the state government had not conducted an impartial investigation into the deaths of people during the outbreak in Bhagirathpura.
He described the report as vague, stating that the document was full of uncertainties and mysteries, and that the state government was deliberately concealing facts from the court to hide the true nature of the disaster.
During arguments on the PIL, a state government lawyer said a detailed report would be presented to the court regarding the causes of death in Bhagirathpura, and that the petitioners’ lawyers could submit their response.
The state government also stated that it was complying with all the directives of the high court in the Bhagirathpura case.
The state government also presented a status report to the court in this matter.
According to reports, a total of 454 patients were admitted to local hospitals during the vomiting and diarrhea outbreak, of whom 441 have been discharged after treatment, and 11 are currently hospitalised.
According to officials, following the vomiting and diarrhoea outbreak in Bhagirathapura, contaminated water was found in 51 tube wells in the area, and water testing reports revealed the presence of E. coli bacteria.
Officials said the bacteria infected a large number of people in Bhagirathapura.
They said that due to a leak in the municipal drinking water pipeline in Bhagirathapura, sewage from a toilet was also mixed in the water. PTI HWP MAS NP
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