Indore Water Contamination: High Court Summons Chief Secretary, Orders Emergency Relief

Overview

• The Madhya Pradesh High Court directed Chief Secretary Anurag Jain to appear by video on January 15 to outline preventive and corrective actions.
• The court ordered immediate supply of safe drinking water at government cost and free medical screening and treatment for affected residents.
• Death figures remain disputed, with the state citing eight fatalities and the district seven, even as compensation cheques were issued to 18 families.
• More than 1,400 people have fallen ill in Bhagirathpura since December 24, with 142 hospitalised and 11 in ICUs this week, and officials reporting a decline in admissions.
• Preliminary reports indicated E. coli in over half of borewell samples, while opposition leaders sought an independent or Supreme Court–level probe and highlighted infrastructure lapses.