Indore, Oct 2 (IANS) Madhya Pradesh Congress on Friday questioned the disappearance or non-availability of crucial engineering records and prolonged administrative delays in Indore’s Bhagirathpura drinking water crisis, saying the issues flagged in the judicial inquiry demanded clear accountability from the government.
Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar said the judicial inquiry report raised questions not merely about water contamination but also about how the city’s water and sewerage infrastructure was planned, maintained and monitored.
“Important engineering records were not made available before the commission. The government must explain why such records were unavailable and who will be held accountable for this lapse,” Singhar said at a press conference in Indore.
The one-member commission headed by former Madhya Pradesh High Court judge Sushil Kumar Gupta examined the causes of contamination, illnesses and deaths, besides administrative and technical shortcomings.
The report was submitted to the High Court in August. According to the findings, cited by the Congress, sewage entered drinking water pipelines in Bhagirathpura, rendering the supplied water contaminated and unfit for human consumption.
The report also examined delays in sewerage and wastewater pipeline-related works, including tendering, file movement and execution. Singhar said the absence of basic technical documentation was particularly serious because records such as layout plans, blueprints, design drawings and pipeline alignment maps are critical for understanding and maintaining an urban water network.
The Congress also focused on the movement of a file connected with the sewerage infrastructure work. Singhar said the file remained pending for 66 days for the Mayor’s signature and sought an explanation for the delay.
“How did deaths occur due to contaminated drinking water in the country’s cleanest city?” he asked, saying the episode raised serious questions about the safety of drinking water and the functioning of the civic administration.
The commission, however, did not fix personal responsibility on the Mayor merely because the file had been pending for his signature, according to the findings cited in media reports.
The question raised by the Congress relates to administrative responsibility for the delay. The inquiry examined 36 deaths and, according to the report details cited by Singhar, 22 were considered related to contaminated water.
The figure has been presented with attribution amid differing public accounts of the number of deaths linked to the episode.
Singhar also demanded implementation of the commission’s recommendations for compensation and assistance to affected families and patients.
The recommendations include Rs 10 lakh for the families of those who died and financial and medical assistance for affected patients.
“The people of Bhagirathpura deserve transparency, accountability and justice,” Singhar said, demanding that the government disclose when the recommendations would be implemented and compensation released.
The Bhagirathpura tragedy, caused by contaminated water supply, came to light in December 2025 after residents began falling ill after drinking contaminated water.
The judicial commission found bacteria, including E. coli and total coliform, in water samples and said contaminated water caused water-borne illnesses, including gastroenteritis, vomiting, diarrhoea and dehydration.
The commission examined deaths associated with the outbreak.
According to the report details cited in recent reports, 22 deaths were considered possibly related to the contaminated-water incident, while local residents and the Opposition have cited a higher overall death toll.
The inquiry also concluded that timely replacement of damaged pipelines could have prevented the tragedy, making the issue of administrative delays central to the findings.
–IANS
pd/skp