The Madhya Pradesh high court has directed chief secretary Anurag Jain to appear before it virtually in connection with the outbreak of waterborne diseases that claimed at least 10 lives in Indore’s Bhagirathpura.
Officials on Monday said over half of the groundwater samples taken from borewells in Bhagirathpura tested positive for E coli bacteria, a day after the outbreak.
The high court’s Indore bench issued the summons to Jain while hearing five petitions related to the outbreak due to contaminated water. “If the drinking water itself is contaminated, it is a matter of grave concern. We want to hear from the chief secretary, Anurag Jain, in this matter virtually on January 15, as this problem is not limited to just one part of the city.”
A bench of justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi said the drinking water for the entire city of Indore is unsafe. It cited the right to life and added that it also includes the right to clean drinking water. “This right cannot be compromised,” said the court.
The court sought a status report as the petitioners’ lawyer claimed that the number of infected persons and deaths that were recorded in the previous report on January 2 was less than the actual number. It said the incident has severely damaged the city’s image as the cleanest in the country.
{{/usCountry}}The court sought a status report as the petitioners’ lawyer claimed that the number of infected persons and deaths that were recorded in the previous report on January 2 was less than the actual number. It said the incident has severely damaged the city’s image as the cleanest in the country.
{{/usCountry}}On December 31, the high court directed the state government and the municipal corporation to ensure clean drinking water to citizens. A status report was subsequently filed on this.
Ritesh Inani, the lawyer of the petitioners, said the water supplied in the affected area in tankers is still contaminated. “Several complaints had been made by residents even before this incident, but the administration did not take any notice of them. If these complaints had been addressed and appropriate preventive measures had been taken, this incident would not have occurred.”
Senior advocate Ajay Bagadia cited the delay in laying the water pipeline and sought accountability. “A project worth ₹2.38 crore for laying water lines in Bhagirathpura was approved in November 2022, but the file remained pending with the officers. Tenders were not opened, leading to this incident.”
On Tuesday, 38 new cases of vomiting and diarrhoea were reported from Bharirathpura.