In Indore, deadline to supply clean water looms, toll rises

Officials conduct inspection of drains and pipelines following a diarrhoea outbreak caused by contaminated water, at Bhagirathpura area, in Indore. (PTI)

The death toll in the Indore water contamination crisis continues to climb with the death of a 64-year-old man on Monday morning, even as the administration races to meet its deadline of supplying clean drinking water in the affected Bhagirathpura area within three days.

Now distrustful of taps, residents continue to rely on water supply from tankers. Streets in the area are lined with blue barrels and plastic containers as families line up each morning and evening to collect water. Many who can afford it have shifted to drinking bottled water or installing RO filters. Others boil and strain what they collect.

Bhagwandas Bharnay, 64, had been unwell for several days, suffering from persistent diarrhoea and dehydration before being admitted to a private hospital and later referred to Bombay Hospital. Doctors said he arrived in critical condition after having suffered a cardiac arrest en route, and was revived through CPR before immediately being placed on ventilator support.

Indore Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) Dr Madhav Prasad Hasani said on Monday, “The patient was admitted to the ICU in a critical condition and passed away this morning.”

With his death, the death toll in the water contamination tragedy has risen to at least nine.

Medical teams are currently tracking households with young children, pregnant women and the elderly after dozens of cases of severe dehydration were reported in the first week of January. Doctors say three patients have remained on ventilator support for multiple days.

The Health Department has deployed teams across Bhagirathpura, moving door to door with ORS packets and zinc tablets while monitoring those with fevers, diarrhoea, and signs of dehydration.

Municipal Commissioner Kshitij Singhal spent Sunday touring the area, watching sewer cleaning and inspecting borewell chlorination. Teams have been instructed to remove sludge immediately after drain clearing, disinfect public points and continuously broadcast warnings advising residents to boil water.

Government records show that the Indore district administration has distributed cheques of Rs 2 lakh to the families of 18 people in connection with the tragedy. The state has previously told the High Court that the death toll in connection with the contamination was eight.