‘Scared to drink tap water’: Indore residents lose faith in municipal supply after contamination tragedy

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• Contaminated water in Indore causes 6 deaths, 200 hospitalizations.
• Bottled water use spikes, increasing costs for low- and middle-income families.
• Authorities boost chlorination, urge boiling water to control outbreak.

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The recent water contamination tragedy in Indore, Madhya Pradesh’s commercial hub and a city repeatedly ranked India’s cleanest, has shaken public confidence in municipal tap water. Many residents have now turned to bottled water, increasing the financial strain on low- and middle-income families, The Times of India reported.

Authorities have confirmed at least six deaths and over 200 hospitalisations due to an outbreak of vomiting and diarrhoea linked to polluted drinking water in Bhagirathpura. However, the actual death toll remains contested, with estimates ranging from 10 to 16.

“Yes, we are now scared of drinking municipal water. We need proof that it is safe before we consume it,” said Sunita to news agency PTI, a resident of Marathi Mohalla.

“We are buying drinking water jars from the market at ₹20 to ₹30 per jar.” She claimed that residents had been getting “dirty water” from their taps for the past two to three years, but repeated complaints were ignored.

“For a long time, we have been adding alum and boiling water before drinking,” she added. The distrust is now so deep that even tea stall owners have switched to bottled water to reassure their customers.

“We are making tea using bottled water, but we haven’t increased prices,” tea vendor Tushar Verma was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

Meanwhile, the district administration has intensified efforts to contain the outbreak and restore public confidence. District Magistrate Shivam Verma said an information, education and communication (IEC) campaign is being carried out in Bhagirathpura with the help of NGOs, advising residents to boil water for at least 15 minutes and to rely only on drinking water supplied through municipal tankers.

Chlorination of municipal pipelines and tube wells in the affected areas is also underway. Health experts noted that chlorination remains one of the most effective ways to eliminate harmful pathogens and prevent water-borne diseases.

While the administration has formally confirmed six deaths, Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava earlier suggested that as many as 10 fatalities may be linked to the outbreak. Residents, however, claim the toll is closer to 16, including a six-month-old baby.

Indore sources its drinking water from the Narmada river, transported through pipelines from Jalud in neighbouring Khargone district, nearly 80 km away. Tap water is supplied to households on alternate days.

On Friday, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav ordered the transfer of municipal commissioner Dilip Kumar Yadav and suspended additional municipal commissioner Rohit Sissoniya along with Sanjeev Shrivastava, the in-charge superintendent engineer of the Public Health Engineering Department.

In a status report submitted to the High Court, the state government said the diarrhoeal outbreak caused by contaminated water is now under effective control, with continuous monitoring in place to prevent any resurgence.