Indore: A man drinks water from a tanker amid a contaminated water crisis at Bhagirathpura, in Indore, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026.
(File Photo | PTI)BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav launched the state-wide Swachh Jal Abhiyan in the wake of deaths due to contaminated water in Indore.
The initiative will prominently feature GIS mapping of water and sewer pipeline, identification of intersection points and leakage checks using robots will form the key components of the campaign.
Aiming to strengthen water security, conservation and grievance redressal, the campaign will be conducted in two phases, with the first phase being operational from January 10 to February 28 and the second phase being conducted between March 1 and March 31. The campaign will also entail Jal Sunwai (public hearing) every Tuesday to ensure citizens’ right to be heard and guarantee clean drinking water, focus on public awareness and community participation for effective implementation and special provision to register drinking water related complaints via 181 (The CM Helpline).
It will also integrally focus on time-bound disposal of applications related to drinking water issues, while keeping the applicants duly informed.
While launching the campaign through video conferencing, the CM said, “It was the state’s responsibility to deliver clean water to every household, discharge duties with accountability using technology, regular test drinking water quality, ensure immediate alternative arrangements in case of water contamination, zero tolerance for contaminated water supply and strict action against officials and employees found negligent in campaign implementation.”
The campaign comes following the deadly diarrhoea outbreak in Indore’s Bhagirathpura area, which has reportedly claimed 21 lives since December 24, while more than 40 others are hospitalized.
Importantly, on January 6, while hearing bunch of petitions related to the deaths of residents in Indore due to contaminated water supply, the Indore bench of MP HC, had come down heavily on the state government, observing that the Bhagirathpura incident had severely damaged Indore’s image of being the country’s cleanest city and made it infamous for supplying poisonous water to its residents.
The HC’s double judge bench had directed the state’s chief secretary Anurag Jain to address the Court through video conferencing on January 15 on the entire issue, as well as apprise what actions at the State level are being taken for preventing the water contamination in the entire state so as to prevent the similar incident in other places.
· A CAG report, tabled in the Vidhan Sabha in 2020, flagged important findings about the quantity-quality of water supply in Bhopal and Indore between 2013 and 2018.
· The report mentioned that as many as 4,481 water samples (physical, chemical and bacteriological) were adverse (below BIS 10500 standard) in both municipal corporations.
· It also mentioned that independent water sample testing conducted jointly revealed that out of 54 water samples, 10 water samples were found adverse having turbidity and faecal coliform.
· Consequently, 8.95 lakh residents (3.62 lakh in Bhopal Municipal Corporation-BMC and 5.33 lakh in Indore Municipal Corporation-IMC) were supplied contaminated water.
· During the same period the Public Health department also reported 5.45 lakh cases of water borne diseases.
· It mentioned that out of 45 tests checked Over Head Tanks/reservoirs in 23 cases, neither the Over Head Tanks/reservoirs were cleaned at regular intervals nor any biological test of the silt of the OHT were conducted which was mandatory to ensure quality of water supplied.
· According to the Functionality Assessment Report on the central government’s Jal Jeevan Mission, more than one-third of rural drinking water in MP is unfit for human consumption.
· As per the report which was based on testing of water samples collected from over 15,000 rural households across MP in September-October 2024, only 63.3% of water samples in MP passed quality tests, compared to a national average of 76%.
· The findings meant that just 36.7% of rural drinking water samples in the state were found unsafe, containing bacterial or chemical contamination.
· Recently, the groundwater in MP capital Bhopal’s Khanugaon, Adampur Cantonment and Vajpayee Nagar, has tested positive for the presence of E coli bacteria, which was also found in water samples of Indore’s Bhagirathpura area, where more than 20 deaths have been reported so far.
