INDORE: Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava on Friday said he had received information about 10 deaths due to a diarrhoea outbreak caused by contaminated water in the Bhagirathpura area of the city.
However, residents claimed that 14 people, including a six-month-old infant, have died due to the health crisis. The health department has not confirmed the claim, and its official data puts the death toll from the diarrhoea outbreak in Bhagirathpura at four.
“I have received information about 10 deaths due to this outbreak,” Bhargava told PTI.
When asked about a suspected cholera outbreak based on preliminary test reports of drinking water samples collected from Bhagirathpura, the mayor said that only the health department could provide details on the matter.
Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) Dr Madhav Prasad Hasani said on Thursday that laboratory test reports from a city medical college had confirmed contamination in the drinking water supply due to a leakage in a pipeline. However, he did not share the detailed findings of the report.
Administrative officials have also avoided giving clear information on the issue.
Officials said a leak was found in the main drinking water supply pipeline near a police outpost in Bhagirathpura, at a location over which a toilet has been constructed, leading to contamination of the water supply.
More than 1,400 people have been affected by vomiting and diarrhoea in Bhagirathpura over the past nine days. A health department official said that, as of Thursday night, 272 patients had been admitted to hospitals in the area, of whom 71 have been discharged. Of the 201 patients currently hospitalised, 32 are undergoing treatment in intensive care units.