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Informist, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026

 

NEW DELHI – Mounting a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre over the deaths in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, from consumption of contaminated water, the opposition Indian National Congress Thursday said the country is facing a serious health emergency but the government remains oblivious to it.

 

"It's not just water that is contaminated," Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera told a press briefing. "It's milk, paneer, cough syrup, anti-rabies injection, and what not that are adulterated today. International Centre for Sustainability report says 70% water of India is polluted."

 

Several people have died after consuming contaminated water in Indore's Bhagirathpura between Dec. 24 and Jan. 6. The state government, also run by the BJP, has told the Madhya Pradesh High Court that eight people died. However, newspapers, citing government records, have reported that at least 18 affected families have been paid compensation of Rs 2 lakh each. More than 100 people are currently undergoing treatment in hospitals, including 15 in intensive care units.

 

Khera said a tender to change water pipelines in Indore was finalised on July 22, 2022, but the work never began. "Were you (the state government) waiting for the contractor who could give the highest commission," he asked.

 

The Congress spokesperson said Madhya Pradesh had secured a $200 million loan from the Asian Development Bank in 2003 to develop Bhopal, Gwalior, Indore, and Jabalpur, but there is no account of where that money has gone.

 

Accusing the state government of trying to hide facts related to the deaths in Indore, Khera asked whether stool samples of the victims were investigated for the presence of bacteria that cause cholera. "If yes, were these cases notified under Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme as mandated? Because cholera is a notifiable disease in India," he said. A test conducted by the Indore Municipal Corporation's Water Testing Laboratory in Musakhedi confirmed the presence of faecal contamination in groundwater drawn from Bhagirathpura, according to a report in The Indian Express.

 

The senior Congress politician also demanded to know whether the state government had reported the matter to the Union health ministry and the World Health Organization. If it has, he asked whether the correspondence would be made public.

 

Notably, Indore secured the top spot in the central government's Swachh Survekshan, or annual cleanliness survey, for the eighth successive year in 2025. The survey is run by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs under the Swachh Bharat Mission and ranks cities on sanitation, waste management, and citizen participation. "You (the government) cannot hide behind slogans of Swachh Bharat, Smart Cities, and Har Ghar Jal," Khera said. "The country is facing a health emergency, but I am not sure if the (Narendra) Modi government or the PMO (prime minister's office) is realising its magnitude."  End

 

US$1 = INR 90.02

 

Reported by Asim Khan

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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