NEW DELHI: The city of Indore, which was so far considered India’s cleanest city for its sanitation achievements, is in the midst of a severe health emergency as contaminated drinking water allegedly caused by sewage leakage triggered a severe gastroenteritis outbreak in the Bhagirathpura locality, a densely populated area, and parts of Neelkanth Colony in the city.

The Mayor of Indore, Pushyamitra Bhargava, on Friday said that he had received information about the deaths of 10 patients due to the outbreak caused by contaminated water in the Bhagirathpura and Neelkanth Colony areas.

Bhargava said, “As per the health department data, four people have died due to the diarrhoea outbreak in Bhagirathpura; however, I have received information about 10 deaths due to this outbreak.”

Residents of the area have disputed this claim and said that nearly 14 people, including a six-month-old child, have died so far. They added that hundreds of others were still battling for life in the intensive care units of hospitals.

Locals reported receiving discoloured water and foul smells since the last week of December last year, which soon turned murky yellow and emitted a foul stench. However, civic officials reportedly took no effective action and water distribution continued. Soon, people who consumed the water for drinking and cooking due to a lack of alternatives began reporting diarrhoea and vomiting since last Sunday.

Within days, the situation escalated into a major waterborne disease outbreak, with nearly 200 patients admitted for treatment for diarrhoea, vomiting, dehydration, high fever, and related illnesses in 41 hospitals across the city, with some cases turning very serious and requiring ICU admission. While some patients were discharged after receiving treatment, half a dozen deaths were reported over the next few days.

In the probe into the contamination, government officials admitted that sewage overflow from toilets spilled into the water mains, causing the severe medical emergency. Further investigations revealed that ruptures in a decades-old Narmada water pipeline allowed raw sewage to seep into the drinking water.

Meanwhile, taking swift action, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Friday said he had ordered the removal (transfer) of municipal commissioner Dilip Kumar Yadav and the suspension of additional municipal commissioner Rohit Sissoniya and in-charge superintendent engineer of the Public Health Engineering Department, Sanjeev Shrivastava.