Relatives and neighbours continue to visit the home of Seema Prajapati, who died on December 29, to pay their respects, but many are refusing to drink water at her residence or are carrying their own bottles. The family, which survives on daily wage labour, has been forced to offer packaged cold drinks to visitors due to widespread fear of contamination.
According to Seema’s brother Jitendra Prajapati, she was in good health a day before her death. In the early hours of the morning, she suddenly began vomiting and suffering from severe diarrhoea. Her condition deteriorated so rapidly that she died while being taken to hospital.
The incident has shaken Indore’s Bhagirathpura area, where at least six people have lost their lives and hundreds have fallen ill after consuming contaminated drinking water.
District officials stated that nearly four hundred patients were admitted to hospitals, with more than half later discharged, while several remain in intensive care. Authorities traced the contamination to sewage seeping into a drinking water pipeline after a public toilet was constructed directly above it without a septic tank.
Jitendra’s teenage daughter was also hospitalised with similar symptoms but later recovered. He said the water supplied to homes had appeared dirty for over a month and had developed a bitter taste in recent days. With no alternative source available, families were forced to boil the supplied water for daily use. Complaints made by residents regarding water quality allegedly went unanswered.
Indore depends on Narmada river water, which is distributed through municipal pipelines on alternate days. Following the outbreak, water supply to the affected area was stopped and tankers were deployed, though residents reported that tanker water also appeared discoloured. Some narrow lanes have not yet been reached, forcing families to collect water from relatives’ homes with borewell connections.
Fearing further illness, many households have installed RO water filters, while residents now consume food and beverages only from places using purified or mineral water. Health teams have been deployed across Bhagirathpura to screen residents and identify those showing symptoms, as officials work to contain the spread.
While compensation of Rs 2 lakh has been announced for some affected families, several claim they have not received adequate assistance. Bihari Kori, whose wife Uma died after suffering similar symptoms, said no compensation has reached him yet. He recounted how her condition worsened overnight and how the lack of transport forced them to take her to hospital on a motorcycle. By the time she was admitted, she was declared dead, adding to the growing toll of the tragedy.
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