Key Points
- 14 deaths and 1,400+ illnesses confirmed from contaminated drinking water in Indore’s Bhagirathpura
- Lab tests prove pipeline leak near toilet caused E. coli contamination
- 201 patients remain hospitalized, 32 in critical condition in ICU
- State government issues boil water advisory, develops statewide prevention SOP
- Indore’s “cleanest city” reputation under scrutiny after infrastructure failure
The reputation of Indore, the country’s cleanest city, has been severely tarnished by toxic water that has claimed 14 lives and sickened more than 1,400 residents in the Bhagirathpura area. Recent lab tests have confirmed that contaminated drinking water, caused by a critical infrastructure failure, was responsible for the deadly outbreak. The crisis, which began in late December 2025, has exposed serious vulnerabilities in Madhya Pradesh’s financial capital’s water supply system.
The test results have proven that flaws in the drinking water supply system were responsible for the tragedy. Indore’s Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO), Dr. Madhav Prasad Hasani, told a news agency that lab tests conducted by a medical college in the city confirmed that a leak in a pipeline in the Bhagirathpura area had contaminated the water with dangerous E. coli bacteria, leading to the outbreak. The contamination level was found to be 45 times higher than safe limits, according to internal health department reports.
A leak was found in the main drinking water pipeline near a police outpost in Bhagirathpura, which was located close to a toilet. This leak allowed sewage to seep into the drinking water supply, causing the rapid spread of infection in the densely populated area. Authorities have launched a thorough investigation of the pipeline and are conducting surveys to ensure there are no other leaks. The specific section of the 40-year-old pipeline had corroded, creating a 3-inch rupture that went undetected for nearly two weeks.
Additional Chief Secretary Sanjay Dubey told the news agency, “We are inspecting the entire water supply pipeline in Bhagirathpura to identify any other leaks.” He said that a clean water supply has been restored to the houses in the area since Thursday, but as a precaution, people have been advised to boil the water before drinking it. “We have also collected water samples and sent them for testing,” Dubey added. The government has deployed 25 water tankers to the area and installed temporary chlorination units.
Learning from the water-related tragedy in Bhagirathpura, senior officials said that a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) will be issued across the state to prevent similar incidents in the future. On the instructions of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, Dubey visited Bhagirathpura to assess the situation and spoke with officials. The CM has announced a compensation of ₹10 lakh for the families of each deceased victim and ₹50,000 for those hospitalized. The state government has also suspended three municipal engineers for negligence.
A health department official said that on Thursday, a survey was conducted in 1,714 houses in Bhagirathpura, during which 8,571 people were examined. Of these, 338 people showed mild symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea, and they were treated at home. The official said that in the eight days since the outbreak, 272 patients have been admitted to local hospitals, of whom 71 have been discharged so far. Currently, 201 patients are still hospitalized, with 32 of them in the Intensive Care Unit. Medical teams have screened 95 percent of the area’s population and are conducting follow-up visits every 48 hours.
