Indore, Jan 3: Around 45 Madhya Pradesh Congress functionaries were detained on Saturday as a “precautionary measure” after a clash with BJP workers when a fact-finding committee of the opposition party was at Indore’s Bhagirathpura area, where water contamination has claimed six lives.
The Congress committee under former state minister Sajjan Singh Verma, which includes MLAs Mahesh Parmar and Pratap Grewal, was on its way to meet affected families when BJP workers gathered at the spot carrying black flags and shouted slogans, eyewitnesses said.
Congress workers too replied with slogans denouncing the ruling party, following which the two sides clashed, scuffled with each other and threw slippers, they added.
A police team that arrived at the spot escorted the Congress’ fact-finding committee members and workers out of the area and took them to the central jail, they said.
“To maintain law and order in Bhagirathpura, 45 people, including 10 women, were detained as a precautionary measure. They were later released on bail,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajesh Vyas said.
Congress leaders alleged the police acted at the behest of the ruling BJP and prevented the fact-finding committee from meeting the affected families. This was, however, rejected by BJP leaders who said the Congress was indulging in “dirty politics” over the water contamination tragedy.
According to officials, six people have died and more than 200 were hospitalised in an outbreak of vomiting and diarrhoea caused by contaminated drinking water in Bhagirathpura, which has a large population from low and middle-income groups. The death figures, however, vary, ranging from 10 to 16.
While Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava had said on Friday that he had information about 10 patient deaths linked to the outbreak, residents put the figure at 16, including that of a 6-month-old child.
Trust on municipal tap supply dries up
The water contamination tragedy in Indore, also the country’s cleanest city for almost a decade, has left people shunning municipal tap supply and scurrying for bottled water, putting a financial strain on those with limited means.
“Yes, we are now scared of drinking water from municipal taps. We need proof that the water is clean, only then will we drink it. My family is currently buying drinking water jars from the market, paying between Rs 20 and Rs 30 per jar,” Sunita, a resident of Marathi Mohalla, said on Saturday.
She claimed the area was getting “dirty water” from taps for the past two to three years, but no one listened to the complaints of residents.
“For a long time now, we have been adding alum (sulphate salt used for water purification) and also boiling water before drinking,” Sunita added.
Such is the level of distrust in a city that has often been lauded for its cleanliness that stall owners are using bottled water to make tea to reassure customers of safety.
Meanwhile, the local administration has got down to creating awareness about safe water use.
“An information, education and communication (IEC) campaign is being run in Bhagirathpura through non-governmental organisation workers. These workers are telling people to boil water for 15 minutes before drinking it and to use only drinking water currently being supplied through municipal tankers,” District Magistrate Shivam Verma said.
Chlorination is underway in municipal water supply pipelines and tube wells in Bhagirathpura, he added.
Adding chlorine or chlorine-based compounds to water is a time-tested measure to kill bacteria, viruses and other pathogens, making it fit for drinking. It is one of the most effective ways to prevent water-borne diseases, as per experts.
NGO claims authorities ignored CAG report
A non-governmental organisation on Saturday claimed that the Indore water contamination deaths are the result of the authorities turning a blind eye to a 2019 report by the Comptroller and Auditor General.
According to the NGO, the CAG report had made “serious revelations” about irregularities in the drinking water supply system in the country’s cleanest city.
Amulya Nidhi, convenor of Jan Swasthya Abhiyan Madhya Pradesh, said in a press release that the deaths were the outcome of “long-known systemic weaknesses”. (PTI)
