INDORE: Three days after BJP members blocked the Madhya Pradesh Congress fact-finding committee’s visit to Indore’s contaminated water-triggered diarrhoea-hit Bhagirathpura locality, senior Congress leaders on Tuesday met bereaved families in the area.
Senior state Congress leaders, including Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Jitu Patwari and Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar, met families who had lost their loved ones due to a diarrhoeal outbreak since December 25.
After meeting the bereaved families, Patwari and Singhar alleged that not just 17 deaths, but many more deaths had happened due to the poisonous water supply in the locality in the last week of December 2025.
Later, talking to journalists at the Indore Press Club, the LoP alleged that the incident was not an accident, but the result of a long-standing administrative negligence, delays and insensitive governance.
“A toilet without a proper septic system was built above the main drinking water pipeline. Due to pipeline leakage, sewage directly reached the taps. Complaints about contaminated water had been made to officials, the water supply department, and the mayor's helpline for months, but the administration did not take any concrete action until innocent lives were lost,” he said.
“Pipeline Tender Suppressed for Two and a Half Years — Why? On November 25, 2022, the decision for a new drinking water pipeline under Mayor-in-Council Resolution No. 106 was passed. On January 30, 2023, the resolution was sent to the concerned departments. More than 2.5 years later, on July 30, 2025, a tender worth Rs 2.4 crore (ID: 2025-UAD-442711-18) was issued; six firms applied, but no action was taken for almost five months even after the tender was issued,” Singhar said.
“If the work had been done on time, this tragedy could have been averted — who will take responsibility for the delay? Suspension is not accountability; it's merely damage control. The government cannot escape its responsibility by suspending a few junior officials, the officers and political functionaries who made the major decisions are still safe. This is like letting the arsonist go free and punishing the person who held the matchstick,” he added.
“Absolute power, zero empathy, Indore gave the BJP support at every level, Assembly, parliament and Municipal Corporation, and complete trust in their power. But in return, the BJP gave Indore only neglect, mismanagement, betrayal, and insensitive governance. Despite such a complete mandate, citizens do not even have access to safe drinking water. Ministers used objectionable language in response to victims' questions, but no action was taken. Meanwhile, the SDM of Dewas merely repeated what the minister had said, yet he was suspended — or was this punishment for allowing the Congress party to protest.”
The LoP further said, “Public in mourning, while the Chief Minister was joking on stage. On January 2, the state’s CM was present on the stage of an event in Khachrod tehsil of Ujjain district. While there was an atmosphere of grief and mourning, the CM was narrating jokes about "rewadi" (a type of sweet) from the stage. He was explaining how one gets the "real thing" after removing the outer layer. Laughter from the stage when the public is in mourning. Is this the conduct expected of a Chief Minister? Especially when he is also the minister in charge of Indore.”
“Swachhata Ranking vs. Ground Reality, Indore consistently ranked 'cleanest city' for seven consecutive times, aiming for the top spot again in 2025, the Municipal Corporation’s budget exceeds Rs 8,000 crore — the highest in the state. Yet, citizens are not getting clean drinking water from their taps," he alleged.
He further said, "The cleanliness award has become a bitter irony for the public today. Lack of transparency amidst health crisis, regular health bulletins have not been issued so far, even the status report filed in the High Court on January 2 attempts to downplay the figures. The actual number of deaths, serious cases, and hospitalized patients is unclear. A demand has been made for the issuance of a health bulletin every 12 hours.”
Singhar, who was a cabinet minister in the 15-month-long Congress government led by Kamal Nath in 2019-2020, also raised the issue of fake bills-drainage scam in Indore. “In the 2019–2023 drainage scam, fraudulent bills worth crores of rupees were passed. Bills were passed even for drainage works that were never constructed. This scam, exceeding Rs 125 crore, was exposed in 2024. Several FIRs have been registered, but no concrete action has been taken to date,” he said.
Singhar further said, “Recently, a video of a BJP corporator Manish Sharma from Indore and his luxurious bungalow went viral on social media. A palatial house, swimming pool, decorated garden, and a party going on inside. The lavish lifestyle of a councillor — where did this money come from?”
