BHOPAL: The Dr Mohan Yadav-led government in Madhya Pradesh has come under scathing attack from one of the BJP's most firebrand senior women leaders, Uma Bharti, over the deaths of residents caused by contaminated water in "India’s cleanest city" Indore.
In a series of posts on X regarding the tragedy that has reportedly claimed 14–15 lives in Indore’s Bhagirathpura locality (though the state government and Indore district administration have put the toll at four), former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Uma Bharti held the government and the district administration directly responsible for the deadly diarrhoeal gastroenteritis outbreak.
“The deaths caused by dirty water in Indore at the end of 2025 have shamed and stained our state, our government, and our entire system. In a city awarded as the cleanest, such ugliness—poison-mixed water swallowing so many lives and continuing to do so—is a disgrace. The death count is rising,” Bharti wrote.
The former Union minister also criticised the government’s focus on compensation. “The price of a human life is not ₹2 lakh. Families will live with grief forever. This sin demands deep repentance. The victims must be asked for forgiveness, and from bottom to top, whoever is guilty must be given the maximum punishment,” she posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Counted among the foremost leaders of the Ayodhya temple movement of the 1990s, Bharti described the crisis as a defining moment for the current state leadership. “This is the moment of testing for Mohan Yadav ji,” she wrote.
In another post, questioning official claims that the situation was beyond their control, Bharti said, “Not just Indore’s mayor, but the entire Madhya Pradesh government and administration are standing in the dock of public crime. If you had no control, why did you continue drinking bottled water while sitting in your offices? Why didn’t you resign and go among the people? Such sins have no explanations—only repentance or punishment.”
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi also targeted the ruling BJP and the government over the issue.
“In Indore, there was no water—only poison was supplied, while the administration slept like Kumbhakarna. Mourning has spread from home to home, the poor are helpless, and on top of that come arrogant statements from BJP leaders. Those whose hearts had gone cold needed solace; instead, the government served hubris,” Gandhi wrote on X.
“People repeatedly complained about dirty, foul-smelling water—why was no action taken? How did sewage mix into drinking water, why wasn’t the supply stopped in time, and when will action be taken against the responsible officers and leaders?” he asked.
“These are not ‘freebie’ questions; they are demands for accountability. Clean water is not a favour—it is a right to life. For the murder of this right, the BJP’s double-engine government, its negligent administration, and its callous leadership are entirely responsible. Madhya Pradesh has now become the epicentre of misgovernance—deaths from cough syrup in one place, rats in hospitals claiming children’s lives in another, and now deaths from sewage-mixed drinking water. And every time the poor die, Modi ji, as always, remains silent,” Gandhi wrote in a long post on Friday.
Meanwhile, the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Friday conducted a special hearing on petitions filed over the contaminated-water-related deaths in Bhagirathpura. As directed during the previous hearing on Wednesday, the state government submitted a status report.
Five petitions have been filed, alleging that the authorities are not disclosing the actual number of deaths and demanding criminal action, including arrests, against officials responsible for the tragedy, which unconfirmed reports say has claimed up to 15 lives.
According to Ritesh Inani, who represents one of the petitioners, “The initial observation of the status report reveals that the government continues to peg the official death toll at four, even as media reports suggest the actual number is between eight and fifteen. The authorities have also not mentioned details of compensation cheques handed over to bereaved families in Bhagirathpura.”
Advocate Manish Yadav, appearing for other petitioners—former municipal corporators of Indore—said the High Court has fixed January 6 as the next date for hearing. “We have demanded enhanced compensation for the bereaved families and strict action against responsible officials, including criminal cases and arrests,” he said.
Earlier, on Wednesday, the High Court directed the state government to provide free medical treatment to those affected by vomiting and diarrhoea after consuming contaminated water in Indore, and sought a detailed status report within 48 hours.
A vacation bench of the Indore bench, comprising Justices Rajesh Kumar Gupta and B P Sharma, issued the directions while hearing a public interest litigation filed by Indore High Court Bar Association president Ritesh Inani, which sought the supply of safe drinking water to city residents.
Separately, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Thursday took suo motu cognisance of media reports of seven deaths linked to contaminated water in Bhagirathpura and issued a notice to the Madhya Pradesh chief secretary, seeking a detailed report within two weeks.
On Thursday evening, laboratory test reports of water samples collected from Bhagirathpura over the past few days confirmed bacterial contamination in the drinking water supply. Indore’s chief medical and health officer, Dr Madhav Hassani, said, “The lab reports have confirmed our earlier suspicion that the deadly infection spread due to sewage contamination of drinking water. We are now awaiting culture reports to identify the pathogen.”
As of Thursday evening, more than 200 people from the Bhagirathpura area had been admitted to various hospitals in Indore, of whom 32 were in intensive care units.
