Indore water contamination deaths: Congress demands Rs 1 crore aid for families of victims

Indore: The Congress on Tuesday demanded Rs 1 crore in compensation and a government job for each family that lost a member after allegedly consuming contaminated drinking water in the city. The party described the incident as a complete failure of the system and blamed it on large scale corruption.

The opposition party also warned that it would call for a citywide bandh if its demands were not fulfilled within eight days.

Congress workers staged a protest at Rajwada, the central square of Indore, over the water contamination issue. Family members of those who died joined the sit in, seeking justice and accountability.

State Congress president Jitu Patwari claimed that 32 people have died so far in the Bhagirathpura area after falling ill due to contaminated water. He said the deaths were not accidental and accused the administration of gross negligence.

Criticising the BJP led state government, Patwari said that while dozens of families were grieving, the government had offered only Rs 2 lakh as compensation to each affected family. He demanded that the compensation be increased to Rs 1 crore and that one member from each family be given a job in the municipal corporation. He reiterated that the party would intensify its agitation if action was not taken within the given deadline.

Bhagirathpura falls under the Indore 1 assembly constituency, which is represented by state cabinet minister Kailash Vijayvargiya.

Taking a swipe at chief minister Mohan Yadav, Patwari said the government’s refusal to seek Vijayvargiya’s resignation despite the reported deaths showed a lack of accountability.

Officials said cases of vomiting and diarrhoea linked to contaminated drinking water began surfacing in Bhagirathpura in late December.

In a death audit report submitted to the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on January 27, the state government indicated that 16 deaths in the area could be associated with the outbreak caused by contaminated water.

The High Court has ordered a judicial inquiry into the matter and set up a one member commission headed by former judge Justice Sushil Kumar Gupta to investigate the case.

(with inputs from agencies)