In the latest development in Indore's Bhagirathpura water contamination crisis—which has killed at least eight and sickened hundreds—the Madhya Pradesh government told the High Court eight people died, but compensated 18 families. The court rebuked the discrepancy as insensitive, while Chief Minister Mohan Yadav stressed the pain of any life lost.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court Division Bench of Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi expressed strong displeasure on January 7, 2026, over the state's report confirming eight deaths from contaminated water in Indore's Bhagirathpura area between December 24, 2025, and January 6, 2026. Government records, however, show the Indore district administration issued Rs 2 lakh cheques to 18 affected families, with one still pending due to bank account issues.
Chief Minister Mohan Yadav commented, "We don’t delve into statistics... Generally, only those cases where post-mortems were performed were considered valid figures." He added that the loss of even one life is deeply painful, noting the administration's procedures for compensation.
The state attributed the tally of eight to an ongoing medical board review, complicated by natural deaths and missing post-mortems. Despite some families skipping autopsies, leaders like Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya chose to compensate all reported cases pending a final audit.
A January 3, 2026, bacterial test report from the Indore Municipal Corporation's Musakhedi lab confirmed severe faecal contamination in 35 of 51 groundwater samples from local borewells, with coliform counts of 13 to 360 per 500 ml—far exceeding the zero-tolerance standard. In response, authorities chlorinated over 500 borewell connections and initiated geo-tagging for monitoring.
This follows the court's earlier criticism of the state's response, summons to Chief Secretary Anurag Jain, and orders for testing, repairs, and safety plans.
