After meeting those ill from contanimated water, Rahul tears into Madhya Pradesh govt

LEADER OF the Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Saturday visited the families of those who died after consuming contaminated drinking water in Indore’s Bhagirathpura area and accused the BJP government of negligence and failing in its basic responsibility to provide clean drinking water.

Gandhi visited Indore’s Bombay Hospital and met seven patients undergoing treatment after drinking contaminated water. He spoke at length with the patients and their families, inquired about their medical condition, treatment cost, and also inquired about administrative lapses.

Criticising the implementation of the Smart City project, the Congress MP said Indore, promoted as a model city under the project, still lacks assured supply of clean drinking water.

“This is a smart city of the new model. In this model there is no clean drinking water, the people are intimidated. In Indore, people die after drinking water. This is the urban model. This is not just happening in Indore but also in various other cities. It is the government’s responsibility to ensure clean drinking water and less pollution, which the government is not able to deliver,” he said. Gandhi demanded that the government fix accountability.

“There must be somebody who must be responsible… Somebody from the government who did all of this. The government must take responsibility for this. I spoke to the families and they told me that there is no drinking water. It is like a bandaid has now been applied. The minute the media attention is off this case, the situation will go back to where it was. The government must fulfill its responsibility, that’s all they are asking,” Gandhi said.

He also brushed off the ruling BJP’s allegations of the Opposition “playing politics” over the tragedy.

“As a leader of the Opposition it is my duty to come here and stand by the people…You can call it whatever you want… I don’t care, I stand with them.”

The Madhya Pradesh government’s death audit report into the Indore water contamination case, presented before the High court, revealed a total of 23 deaths in Bhagirathpura, of which at least 15 were suspected to have died after drinking contaminated water.

In its status report, the state government detailed the medical response based on hospital admissions gathered from various districts. It said, “440 patients were reported across various hospitals, eight patients were admitted to ICU, 411 patients were discharged after treatment, [and there are] 21 active patients across hospitals.”

Anand Mohan J is an award-winning Senior Correspondent for The Indian Express, currently leading the... Read More