Hemant Gaikwad, a 51-year-old resident of Bhagirathpura in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore, has died after falling ill due to contaminated drinking water, pushing the death toll linked to the outbreak to 25, according to local residents.
Gaikwad, also known as Bala, died on Tuesday morning while undergoing treatment. He fell ill on December 22 after consuming contaminated water and was initially admitted to a private nursing home in Pardeshipura. As his condition deteriorated, he was referred to Aurobindo Hospital on January 7, where he remained under treatment for several days.
Doctors said Gaikwad, who had pre-existing ailments including cell carcinoma and kidney disease, was admitted with severe vomiting and diarrhoea, after which his health worsened rapidly.
Gaikwad was an e-rickshaw driver and the sole breadwinner of his family. He is survived by his wife and four daughters.
“My brother died due to contaminated water. We lost him after just 15 days of illness,” his younger brother Sanjay said. “Those responsible for my brother’s death must be punished. The government should provide all possible assistance to his family.”
Family members said residents of Bhagirathpura have been complaining about contaminated water for nearly two years, but no effective action was taken by the municipal authorities.
Meanwhile, the issue continued to draw sharp scrutiny from the Madhya Pradesh High Court. During a hearing on Tuesday, the court questioned the state government on who was monitoring compliance with its earlier directions on the ground and where citizens could lodge complaints. The Chief Secretary, Anurag Jain, who appeared via video conferencing, failed to give a clear response.
The state government informed the court that it has constituted a high level committee to probe the contaminated water deaths in Indore, officially known as the country’s cleanest city. The committee will be headed by Additional Chief Secretary Sanjay Kumar Shukla, with senior officials from the Public Health Engineering Department, Urban Administration and the Indore division as members.
According to the government, the panel will examine administrative and technical lapses, fix accountability and recommend measures to prevent similar incidents in the future. It has been given one month to submit its report.
However, the petitioners strongly opposed the move. Senior advocate Ajay Bagaria termed the committee an eyewash and argued that public confidence had eroded as all its members were serving bureaucrats. He also questioned the recent posting of former Indore Municipal Commissioner Dilip Kumar Yadav to another senior position soon after his removal in connection with the incident.
Bagaria cited Pollution Control Board reports from 2016 and 2017 that had already flagged faecal contamination in borewell water across the city, alleging that authorities failed to take corrective measures for nearly a decade. He also raised concerns over the quality and delayed completion of a drinking water pipeline project.
The court reserved its order after hearing all sides.
So far, 21 affected families have received compensation of Rs 2 lakh each. Nine patients remain hospitalised, seven of them in intensive care. The state government said it has spent Rs 1.21 crore on medical treatment.
Officials earlier confirmed that water samples from 51 tube wells in Bhagirathpura tested positive for E coli bacteria. A leakage in a municipal pipeline allegedly led to sewage water mixing with the drinking water supply. A recent death audit report indicated that at least 15 deaths may be directly linked to the outbreak.
