The Madhya Pradesh High Court has summoned the state chief secretary over deaths from contaminated water in Indore's Bhagirathpura area, calling the government's earlier report insensitive. At least eight people died and hundreds fell ill since late December 2025 due to sewage mixing into drinking water supplies. The court ordered comprehensive measures including water testing and pipeline repairs to ensure clean water access.
Indore, long celebrated as India's cleanest city for seven consecutive years until 2023 and recognized as the first 'water plus' city in 2021, faces a severe public health crisis. Between December 24, 2025, and January 6, 2026, at least eight deaths occurred in Bhagirathpura after residents consumed contaminated water, with reports varying up to 10 fatalities. Health officials reported 310 admissions since the outbreak began, with 203 patients still hospitalized, including 25 in intensive care. Water samples tested positive for bacteria such as salmonella, vibrio cholera, and E. coli, linked to sewage leakage from ageing pipelines laid in the 1990s and a public toilet built without a septic tank, now demolished.
The crisis stems from Indore's overburdened water infrastructure. The city, with a population exceeding 3 million and projected to reach 5.87 million by 2040, relies on Narmada River supply phases since 1978, totaling 540 MLD, supplemented by thousands of unregulated borewells. In Bhagirathpura, a congested slum area, drinking and sewage lines run too close, and old asbestos-cement pipes have corroded, allowing contamination. Prior warnings were ignored: a 2018 CAG audit found all 20 water samples failing BIS norms for iron, nitrate, and faecal coliform; a 2023 NGT report highlighted untreated sewage from 367.8 MLD; and 266 quality complaints were logged in 2025, including 23 from the affected zone.
A Rs 2.38 crore pipeline replacement project approved in November 2022 progressed slowly, with 80% complete only recently, due to delays in tenders and work orders. Councillor Kamal Baghela alleged in a December 31, 2025, letter to Chief Minister Mohan Yadav that files were stalled for seven months. On January 2, 2026, IMC Commissioner Dilip Kumar Yadav was relieved, replaced by Kshitij Singhal, who stated, 'We are tracking the source of contamination in the borewell system... The pipeline network that allowed the contamination to spread is under review.' Several officials, including engineers, were suspended for negligence.
On January 7, 2026, the Madhya Pradesh High Court's Indore bench, comprising Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi, heard petitions and deemed the state's January 2 report 'insensitive,' summoning Chief Secretary Anurag Jain virtually on January 15. The court emphasized the right to clean water under Article 21, ordering NABL-accredited testing at multiple points, pipeline repairs where lines run parallel to sewers, online monitoring systems, chlorination protocols, and a long-term safety plan. It also demanded files on tenders and a 2017-2018 pollution board report showing 59 of 60 samples non-potable. Petitioners, including advocates Ritesh Inani and Ajay Bagadia, highlighted ignored complaints and sought criminal action beyond suspensions, proposing a retired judge-led probe. Meanwhile, 38 new diarrhoea cases were reported that day, and 467 of 866 mayor helpline complaints in early January concerned contaminated water. District Collector Shivam Verma initially declared an epidemic but later clarified it as a contained diarrhoeal outbreak after an ICMR visit.
