At India's cleanest city, poop

National

At India's cleanest city, poops mix directly on drinking water

A lethal mix of sewage and drinking water triggered a public health disaster in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Indore incidentally is honoured as India’s cleanest city, which carelessly killed at least seven people and hospitalising over 200, as investigations revealed shocking lapses in civic infrastructure and official coordination.

According to findings, the contamination originated from a toilet constructed directly above a main drinking water pipeline near a police outpost, without a mandatory safety tank — a violation that allowed sewage to seep into the potable water network after a leak developed in the line, shockingly. The gross unhygienic massacre has harshly slapped a hard hit on the country's much propagated Swachh Bharat Mission as well as 'Ghar Ghar Sauchalaya' of Modi government.

Besides, the tragedy further has exposed a cascade of administrative failures. While Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargav has acknowledged seven deaths, the health department has officially confirmed three so far - of course a 'nasty' attempt to shield the ground reality, the Opposition parties blamed.

At least 212 patients remain hospitalised, including 30 in intensive care, even as authorities race to contain the outbreak.

Indore Municipal Corporation Commissioner Dilip Kumar, admitting the lapses said on Thursday: “We have found that in case of the construction of the toilet, no safety tank was constructed beneath it. We are also probing the other lapses.”