‘Waterman of India’ slams Indore tragedy as ‘system-created disaster’ fuelled by corruption

Indore, Jan 4: Renowned water conservationist Rajendra Singh on Sunday termed the recent death of several residents due to contaminated drinking water in Indore a “system-created disaster,” alleging that deep-rooted corruption is to blame for the tragedy.
The Magsaysay Award winner, popularly known as the “Waterman of India,” expressed alarm that such a crisis could unfold in Indore, which has been consistently ranked as India’s cleanest city.
“If such a tragedy can occur in the country’s cleanest city, it shows how serious the condition of drinking water supply systems must be in other cities,” Singh told PTI.
The crisis began in the area of Bhagirathpura, where local government officials discovered a huge leak within the major water pipeline carrying drinking water. It was found that water contamination occurred in an area where a toilet was constructed over the water mains in a police outpost.
Government officials admitted the sewage overflow from the toilet spilled over into the water mains, causing the outbreak of severe episodes of vomiting and diarrhea.
Officially, the death toll was put at six so far. Locals, however, claim the fatality count could be anywhere between 10 and 14, with another 200 people still in hospital. Over 30 patients were still in the intensive care units.
“Indore’s contaminated drinking water crisis is a system-created disaster. To save money, contractors lay drinking water pipelines in close proximity to drainage lines,” Singh claimed.
He alleged “corruption” has ruined the entire system. The Indore tragedy is the direct result of this corrupt system, he added.
“The year-on-year decline in groundwater levels in Indore is the most worrying. I visited Indore for the first time in 1992. Even then, I had asked how long the city would depend on water from the Narmada river?” Singh said.
If the city has continued to rely on the Narmada water even after so many years, it means that people in the government system did not want to create a responsible water management mechanism, he claimed.
A large amount of money is lost to corruption in the project to bring Narmada water to Indore from 80 kilometres away, the water conservationist charged.
Indore depends on the Narmada River for its water needs. Through pipelines laid by the municipal corporation, water from the Narmada river is brought to Indore from Jalud in neighbouring Khargone district, located 80 km away, and supplied to households on alternate days.
According to civic officials, around Rs 25 crore is spent every month from the municipal corporation’s treasury only on electricity bills for this project.
The huge expenditure involved in the project can also be gauged from statements made by Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava.
During a seminar in the city on June 27, 2024, Bhargava had said, “Ever since I became mayor, I have been joking that Indore is one of the richest cities in Asia because we drink water that costs Rs 21 per kilolitre and also let it flow wastefully. We are not drinking water, but ghee.” (PTI)