Tea sellers are using mineral water, even as middle-class Indoris struggle to afford it; residents claim municipal tap water has been ‘dirty’ for the past three years
Indoris drown an effigy of MP minister Kailash Vijayvargiya
The water contamination tragedy in Madhya Pradesh’s commercial capital Indore has left people shunning municipal tap supply and scurrying for bottled water, putting a financial strain on those with limited means. Stall owners are using bottled water to make tea to reassure customers of safety. Despite using bottled water, the price of tea has not been increased, pointed out tea stall owner Tushar Verma.
According to officials, six people have died and more than 200 were hospitalised in an outbreak of vomiting and diarrhoea caused by contaminated drinking water in Bhagirathpura, which has a large population from low and middle-income groups. The death figures, however, vary, ranging from 10 to 16.
“Yes, we are now scared of drinking water from municipal taps. We need proof that the water is clean, only then will we drink it. My family is currently buying drinking water jars from the market, paying between Rs 20 and Rs 30 per jar,” Sunita, a resident of Marathi Mohalla, said on Saturday. She claimed the area was getting “dirty water” from taps for the past two to three years, but no one listened to the complaints of residents. “For a long time now, we have been adding alum (sulphate salt used for water purification) and also boiling water before drinking,” Sunita added.
Many residents are drinking from water tankers. Pics/PTI
Meanwhile, the local administration has got down to creating awareness about safe water use. “An information, education, and communication (IEC) campaign is being run in Bhagirathpura through NGO workers. These workers are telling people to boil water for 15 minutes before drinking it and to use only drinking water currently being supplied through municipal tankers,” District Magistrate Shivam Verma said. Chlorination is underway in municipal water supply pipelines and tube wells in Bhagirathpura, he added.
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