Madhya Pradesh: Bhagirathpura hit by diarrhoea outbreak; 10 fatalities reported

City Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava on Friday said he has received information about 10 deaths due to a diarrhoea outbreak caused by contaminated water in the Bhagirathpura area of the cityHowever local residents have claimed that 15 individuals have died due to the health crisis The health department has not confirmed this claimldquoAccording to health department data four people have died due to the diarrhoea outbreak in Bhagirathpura However I have received information about 10 deaths due to this outbreakrdquo Bhargava saidTo a question about suspected cholera spread in the area the mayor said only the health department could provide information on the matterMore than 1400 people have been affected by vomiting and diarrhoea in Bhagirathpura over the past nine daysA health department official citing the situation till Thursday night said that 272 patients were admitted to hospitals in the area of whom 71 have been dischargedThe official said 32 of the 201 patients currently hospitalised are undergoing treatment in intensive care unitsLeakage from toiletChief Medical and Health Officer CMHO Dr Madhav Prasad Hasani said on Thursday that laboratory test reports from a city medical college had confirmed that the drinking water from the locality was contaminated due to a leakage in a pipelineOfficials said a leakage was found in the main drinking water supply pipeline near a police outpost in Bhagirathpura at a spot over which a toilet has been constructed They claimed the leakage from the toilet led to contaminationAdditional Chief Secretary Sanjay Dubey said ldquoWe are closely examining the entire drinking water supply pipeline in Bhagirathpura to find out if there is any leakage elsewhererdquo He said after inspection clean water was supplied to households in Bhagirathpura through the pipeline on Thursday though as a precaution people have been advised to use the water for drinking only after boiling it Meanwhile Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has ordered disciplinary action against senior Indore Municipal Corporation officials including the immediate transfer of an additional commissioner from the cityFamily rejects compensationA child born after 10 years of fervent prayers and vows died within days due to water contamination that has claimed several livesThe family claims it has rejected the governments compensation for the death of the child The government has announced an exgratia of R2 lakh each to the families of the deceased personsAn eerie silence prevailed in an alley in the Marathi Mohalla of the Bhagirathpura area where sixmonthold Avyan Sahu lived with his family1400No of people affectedPM Modi silent on deaths CongressCongress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi keeps trumpeting the Jal Jeevan Mission but was silent on deaths caused by contaminated water in Indore He alleged that the ldquoModi government and the BJP failed to provide either clean water or clean air to the countryrdquoldquoThis is the same Indore city that has clinched the lsquoCleanest Cityrsquo title for the eighth consecutive time in the central governmentrsquos Swachh Sarvekshan survey Itrsquos a shameful state of affairs that due to the BJPrsquos incompetence people here are desperate for clean waterrdquo Kharge said in a post in Hindi on XCongress leader Rahul Gandhi targeted the BJPrsquos doubleengine government and said PM Modi is always silent whenever the poor die Gandhi alleged that Madhya Pradesh has become the epicentre of misgovernance and cited various instances of casualties reportedly due to cough syrups poor hygiene at government hospitals and now due to contaminated waterldquoNot water but poison was distributed in Indore and the administration remained in deep slumberrdquo he said in a post on X