INDORE: Seventy-nine-year-old Digambar Wade recently received a Rs 2 lakh cheque from the authorities. Two years earlier, he had been paid Rs 4 lakh by the Madhya Pradesh government after it cleared long-pending dues owed to him when the Hukumchand Mill was shut down in 1991 without notice.
This time, however, the payment came under far more sombre circumstances. The Rs 2 lakh was compensation for the death of his 75-year-old wife, Manjula, who died after consuming contaminated water in Indore.
Digambar, a father of three daughters, had dreamt of going on a religious trek with his wife. Now, he must live alone with only the compensation amount provided by the Indore district administration.
“We had big plans to live happily together, cherishing memories of our younger years, but the contaminated water has shattered those dreams forever,” a tearful Digambar said, recalling the trauma of watching his wife pass away.
“For the last two to three years, we had become accustomed to dirty water initially flowing from the tap. After the first few buckets, the water would become clear and drinkable. But on December 28, the tap water not only remained dirty, it also tasted extremely bitter,” he said.
He recounted that the next day Manjula began vomiting and suffered from loose motions. A day later, she was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance arranged by the local administration, but she died on the night of December 30.
“My world has been completely shattered. Why did God punish me by leaving me alone for the rest of my life? Life is unthinkable without her. I don’t know how long I will survive without her,” Digambar said, in a conversation with TNIE.
Digambar Wade is one of 18 families from Indore's Bhagirathpura locality who have lost family members in the incident.
A contaminated water supply triggered a diarrhoeal outbreak beginning December 24, 2025. All 18 affected families have received compensation of Rs 2 lakh each from the city administration of Indore, a city that has repeatedly been named India's cleanest.
In the next lane, 56-year-old Shobha Panwar sits beside the garlanded photo of her husband, Ashok Lal Panwar, who passed away on December 26, 2025 in the same deadly diarrhoeal outbreak.
“My husband and our son Rahul ran the family by working as daily-wage labourers. Now, young Rahul is solely responsible for supporting the family,” she said.
“For the past year, my Rs 600 monthly disability pension has not been credited to my bank account. I approached both the bank and the authorities, but received no help. Since my husband was there and Rahul too was earning, I didn’t face any difficulty in running the family. Now the Rs 2 lakh sum and Rahul’s earnings will have to run the family,” Shobha said.
The adjacent lane of Ward No 11 houses the extended Barede family, which lost its eldest member, 80-year-old, Jiwan Lal, on December 28, a day after he was rushed to the hospital due to acute dehydration caused by the severe diarrhoea and associated vomiting.
“My kaka sasur (uncle father-in-law) vomited the entire night, just like three other members of the extended family of 22 persons did the same day. While three members survived, he died on December 28. His wife and my Kaki Saas (aunt mother-in-law), Jasoda Bai, who too suffered from the same problem, has turned into a living dead, despite surviving through timely treatment,” said Jiwan Lal and Jasoda’s middle-aged niece daughter-in-law Radha.
Radha said Jasoda now lies near a picture of Jiwan, speechless and in deep shock.
Radha (62) and 10-year-old grandson Saurabh were also hospitalised; however, managed to survive following multiple bottles of life-saving fluid via IV.
It was Radha’s long family, comprising son Nitin Barede, which took care of the elderly couple, after Jiwan and Jasoda’s only son left home and started living elsewhere, following wife’s wish of not living with her in-laws.
“Though he (Jiwan’s son) has performed the last rites, it remains to be seen whether he’ll take along widow mother with him or not. In any case we will take care of Kaki Maa till her last breath,” Radha said.
Around a kilometre away in the same locality, slowly limping back to normal from the killer diarrhoeal epidemic, two houses facing each other narrate a unique tale of neighbours turning family members.
Elderly auto-driver Banshilal Kushwah’s wife, Kaushalya was rushed to the hospital in critical condition by her two daughters-in-laws in a timely manner. She came back alive from the brink of death after remaining five days in the hospital’s ICU.
However, upon return, she was shocked to find out that her next-door neighbour and rakhi brother, retired railway employee Nandlal Pal, had passed away within 30 hours after being hospitalised.
“Nandlal Bhaiya’s wife died 15 years back. For the last few years, he remained ill, due to which his daughter-in-law returned to father’s house ten months back and has not returned. It was me and my two daughters-in-laws, who took his care also, while his cab driver son Siddharth Pal remained driving customers,” a misty-eyed Kaushalya Kushwah said, while being flanked by both daughters-in-law.
“On December 28 night also, when Bhaiya fell ill, Siddharth was away in Omkareshwar (Khandwa), driving some tourists. But with Bhaiya’s condition worsening, it was my younger son Ashish who rushed him to the hospital, but Bhaiya died before I returned alive. I’ve lost my brother and the most caring neighbour,” she added.
While the official death toll remains at 8, authorities have also given compensation cheques to 10 other families as well.