Indore (Madhya Pradesh) [India], January 1 : Madhya Pradesh Urban Development and Housing Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya on Thursday stressed that micro-checking in the entire colony is in progress and will be completed in 8-10 days, following the death of several people after allegedly consuming contaminated water in Indore's Bhagirathpura area.
He further stated that the water treatment was already underway, as doubts regarding sewage contamination had surfaced earlier, ensuring that it would continue.
"There were possibilities of contamination of water with sewage; therefore, treatment had already begun earlier, and the same treatment continues now. Micro-checking is underway across the entire colony and will take 8 to 10 days...", he said.
"A total of eight deaths have been reported, of which two or three are natural deaths and the remaining, if found in the medical report, will be treated subsequently," he added.
BJP MP Shankar Lalwani assured that the clean water supply was restored on Thursday morning, and the borewell water samples have been sent for detailed analysis. He also mentioned that there were seventeen medical cases reported today, which were discharged after primary medical inspection.
"Clean water supply was restored in the morning during our inspection. All the chambers were also cleaned. Seventeen mild cases were reported at the health centre today and were discharged after a primary health check... All the borewell water has been sent for sampling, and the results will be available by tomorrow..." he said.
Meanwhile, JDU leader K.C. Tyagi raised concern on the water contamination, saying, "Indore is considered the cleanest city in the country, the deaths due to contaminated water there are concerning, regrettable, and the statement by Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya on it is controversial... This is an administrative lapse, but Kailash Vijayvargiya should not have made such a light statement."
Earlier, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had taken suo motu cognisance of Indore's contaminated water issue, which led to several deaths.
"Reportedly, the residents had been complaining about the supply of contaminated water supply for several days, but no action was taken by the authorities," NHRC said in a statement.
The human rights body has issued a notice to the Madhya Pradesh Chief Secretary, calling for a detailed report on the matter within two weeks.