Congress seeks answers on missing records and delays in Indore water tragedy

• Congress questions why crucial engineering records were unavailable to the judicial commission and why a sewerage-related file remained pending for 66 days

• Of 36 deaths examined, 22 were considered possibly linked to contaminated water, according to report details cited by Congress and media accounts

• The party seeks implementation of recommendations for Rs 10 lakh compensation to bereaved families and assistance for affected patients

The Madhya Pradesh Congress on Friday demanded explanations for unavailable engineering records and administrative delays highlighted in the judicial inquiry into Indore’s Bhagirathpura drinking water tragedy.

Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar said the findings raised concerns beyond contamination, exposing questions about the planning, maintenance and monitoring of the city’s water and sewerage networks.

Addressing a press conference in Indore, he asked why important technical documents had not been provided to the inquiry commission and who would be held accountable for their absence.

The one-member commission, headed by former Madhya Pradesh High Court judge Sushil Kumar Gupta, investigated the contamination, subsequent illnesses and deaths, and the administrative and technical failures surrounding the outbreak. It submitted its report to the High Court in August.

According to findings cited by Congress, sewage entered drinking water pipelines in Bhagirathpura, making the supply unsafe for consumption.

The crisis emerged in December 2025, when residents began falling ill after drinking contaminated water. The inquiry found bacteria, including E. coli and total coliform, in water samples and linked the contamination to illnesses involving gastroenteritis, vomiting, diarrhoea and dehydration.

Questions over records and delayed work

Singhar said the absence of layout plans, blueprints, design drawings and pipeline alignment maps was particularly concerning because such records were essential to operating and maintaining an urban water network.

He demanded that the government clarify whether the documents were missing or otherwise unavailable, and explain why they had not been placed before the commission.

The inquiry also examined delays in sewerage and wastewater pipeline works, including tendering, the movement of files and execution.

Singhar highlighted a file that, he said, remained pending for the Mayor’s signature for 66 days. He sought an explanation for the delay and questioned how a contaminated drinking water outbreak could occur in a city celebrated for its cleanliness.

However, according to findings cited in media reports, the commission did not hold the Mayor personally responsible solely because the file had awaited his signature. Congress’s demand concerns administrative accountability for the delay.

The inquiry also concluded that timely replacement of damaged pipelines could have prevented the tragedy, placing the pace of infrastructure repairs at the centre of the dispute.

Congress demands compensation

The commission examined 36 deaths. According to report details cited by Singhar and recent media accounts, 22 were considered possibly related to the contaminated-water outbreak. Residents and Opposition representatives have cited a higher overall toll.

Singhar called for implementation of the commission’s recommendations, including compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the families of those who died, alongside financial and medical assistance for affected patients.

He asked the government to disclose when the recommendations would be acted upon and when compensation would reach eligible families.

The people of Bhagirathpura deserved transparency, accountability and justice, he said.

With IANS inputs