‘Complained for days, but no one listened’: Kailash Vijayvargiya confronted at ground zero of Indore water contamination

Madhya Pradesh’s Urban Administration Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya in Indore’s Bhagirathpura (Express Photo)

When Madhya Pradesh’s Urban Administration Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya arrived in Indore’s Bhagirathpura area on Thursday afternoon, riding through the narrow lanes on a two-wheeler surrounded by officials and supporters, it was meant to signal his accessibility: the local MLA with his ear to the ground, personally surveying the damage caused by a water contamination incident that has left eight dead and over a hundred hospitalised, and bringing relief to his constituents.

Instead, women stopped the minister and complained about polluted water in their colonies. He also faced stiff resistance from the families of the deceased, angry about how the administration handled the crisis.

A day earlier, when a journalist asked the minister, the local MLA who represents the Indore-1 constituency, about the deaths and hospital refunds, he had snapped, “Fokat ke sawaal poochhte ho, kya ghanta ho gaya (You ask useless questions, what has happened)?”

By evening, Vijayvargiya was apologising on social media and by nightfall, Opposition leaders were demanding his resignation. “My team and I have been continuously working in the affected area for the past two days without sleep to improve the situation. My people are suffering due to contaminated water, and some have lost their lives. In this state of deep grief, my words came out wrong while responding to a media question. I express my regret for this. However, until my people are completely safe and healthy, I will not sit quietly,” Vijayvargiya said.

For the BJP, the water contamination crisis has become more than a public health emergency. It has turned into a political minefield in one of the party’s most secure urban bastions. The project of providing piped water from the Narmada river to people in Indorehas been a pet project close to the ruling party’s heart. It features in its promotional material among the list of achievements right after Ladli Behana Yojana and a string of Central government schemes.

Vijayvargiya’s visit to the area on Thursday was designed for maximum visibility. Flanked by officials and party workers, the minister moved through Bhagirathpura’s congested lanes on a bike.

Women blocked his path. At multiple points in the narrow bylanes, residents surrounded him, shouting complaints that they claimed had been ignored for months. “Kai dino se dooshit paani ki shikayat ki ja rahi hai lekin kisi ne sunvaai nahin ki (for days, we complained about contaminated water, but no one listened),” said one of the locals.

Vijayvargiya kept moving, nodding, listening. When he attempted to meet the family members of one of the deceased, Chandrakala Yadav, they refused. Yadav’s relative Roshini Yadav, who had been crying, aired her grievances in front of the minister, explaining why the family did not want to meet him. “The family is distressed. One of their other relatives is also facing health problems. The minister called up the local hospital where that relative is being treated,” said a Vijayvargiya aide.

State Congress president Jitu Patwari visited Bhagirathpura shortly after the minister and seized on the opportunity. Meeting with families, he listened as they detailed their complaints about allegedly being ignored for days about the contaminated water supply, forcible discharge from hospitals, and the lack of refunds despite the government’s promises.

“The people of Indore city kept electing them again and again as MPs,” said Patwari. “They gave them nine MLAs, a mayor and councillors. And what did the BJP do? They poisoned the water and delivered death. The arrogance is so astonishing and unimaginable that when journalists ask questions, ministers abuse them. When I went to meet the families whose members had died, at their homes, everyone felt that the government would help them.”