Indore, Jan 28 (PTI) Following the death of a 62-year-old man in Indore’s Bhagirathpura area, his family claimed on Wednesday that he died due to diarrhoea caused by contaminated drinking water.
Including
this case, locals have claimed that 29 persons have lost their lives so far in a diarrhoea outbreak triggered by contaminated drinking water in the area that began a month ago.
However, a “death audit” report presented by the state government to the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Tuesday suggested that the deaths of 16 people in Bhagirathpura may be linked to the water-linked health crisis.
According to his family members, Bhagirathpura resident Khubchand Bandhaiya was being treated for vomiting and diarrhoea. His last rites were performed on Wednesday.
Bandhaiya’s son Rohit told PTI, “My father had been suffering from vomiting and diarrhoea for the past 15-20 days due to contaminated drinking water. We took him to the Urban Primary Health Centre in Bhagirathpura, where he was given medication. He died at our home on Tuesday.”
Rohit claimed he had requested officials at the health facility to admit his father to the hospital, but an ambulance was not sent to his home.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has constituted a one-member commission headed by former HC judge Justice Sushil Kumar Gupta to conduct a judicial inquiry into the Bhagirathpura water issue.
The HC has directed the commission to submit an interim report within four weeks from the date the judicial inquiry proceedings begin.
Officials said the outbreak of vomiting and diarrhoea in Bhagirathpura due to contaminated drinking water began in late December.
According to the officials, contaminated water was found in 51 tube wells in Bhagirathpura, and tests showed the presence of E. coli bacteria. Officials said this bacterium caused widespread infection in Bhagirathpura.
They said the municipal drinking water pipeline in Bhagirathpura had developed a leak, allowing sewage from a toilet to mix with the water supply. PTI HWP MAS NR
