MP Officials Waited For Tragedy: Water Pipeline Left Damaged In Bhagirathpura For 7 Years, Fixed In Just 7 Months After Deaths

Naidunia Correspondent, Indore | The investigation report into the Bhagirathpura contaminated water case in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, presented to the High Court, is revealing new facts daily. The Pollution Control Board had already reported in 2018 that boreholes in several areas of the city, including Bhagirathpura, were spewing contaminated water, the report pointed out. Despite this, municipal officials remained unconcerned about replacing the pipelines for seven years.

Dozen Of Corporation Officials Were Responsible For Crisis

In late December 2025, when deaths were reported in Bhagirathpura due to contaminated water, officials woke up. Pipelines that had remained damaged for seven years were replaced in just seven months. In its report submitted to the court, the commission also questioned the role of officials. In its 110-page conclusion, the court held half a dozen corporation officials responsible for the accident. The court acknowledged that if these officials had been alerted in time, the tragedy would not have occurred.

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Officials Continued To Take The 2018 Report Lightly

The Pollution Control Board, in its 2018 report, warned that boreholes near drains were producing contaminated water. In many residential areas, people were using this water for daily use and drinking purposes. This situation could have turned dangerous any day, but those in charge didn't take the reports seriously. Their negligence proved costly for the residents of Bhagirathpura. People in Bhagirathpura began falling ill as early as December 2025, but neither the health department nor the municipal corporation paid any attention. On December 28, when reports of a large number of people in the area falling ill surfaced and Cabinet Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya expressed his displeasure with the officials, the authorities took action.

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Public Representatives Ignore People's Pleas

The investigation report also revealed that residents of Bhagirathpura had been complaining to public representatives about contaminated water since September 2025, but no one paid any attention. More than a dozen residents confirmed this before the Commission. They said that after hearing their complaints, the public representatives simply said they would look into it.

The Bhagirathpura area has a water pipeline stretching for about 25 km. Funds were allocated for the replacement of these pipelines under two major government projects, but the work was never carried out.