'I used to earn Rs 400 a day': Indore’s water tragedy delivers double blow to daily wage families; tests confirm bacteria presence

INDORE: Amit Mer, 28, has not returned to work since December 28. A labourer at an automobile factory in Indore’s Pologround industrial area, Amit stopped going to work after his 50-yearold mother, Ramkali, died of dehydration after consuming contaminated drinking water in Bhagirathpura, the family said.“I used to earn around Rs 400 a day,” Amit said. “Since her death, I have not been able to go back to work. Every day I stay home, there is no income.”

Amit’s story has become emblematic of the wider fallout from the Bhagirathpura water contamination crisis, which claimed multiple lives and left dozens ill in the densely populated locality. What began as a public health emergency has quickly turned into an economic shock for families dependent on daily earnings. Bhagirathpura is home largely to daily wage labourers, street vendors and informal workers who survive on day to day income and have little financial cushion. As residents fell ill after consuming contaminated water, families faced a double blow of medical expenses and loss of work.The test results have shown faecal coliform as the contamination in some of the water samples,” an official source said on condition of anonymity.

Explaining the medical implications, Dr M S Hora, professor in the department of pathology at the Amaltas Institute of Medical Sciences, Dewas, said faecal contamination often involved bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Klebsiella and Enterobacter. “If E coli is found, it indicates faecal contamination. Fecal coliform is a form of bacterial contamination, most often caused by human or animal fecal matter.These bacteria can be confirmed through culture tests. The disease pattern depends on the type of bacteria involved.

E coli commonly causes diarrhoea and dysentery,” he said. Hora added that faecal contamination also increased the risk of enteric pathogens and viruses, which could spread rapidly through water.Bhagirathpura outbreak has had severe consequences. As per official figures, 10 people died, of which six deaths were attributed to diarrhoea. Total of 3,154 people reported illness, with 398 patients admitted to govt and private hospitals across Indore after complaining of diarrhoea and related symptoms. Former chief chemist of the MP Pollution Control Board, Dr D K Wagela, said the symptoms reported were consistent, “Fever, body aches, vomiting and diarrhoea are common after consuming water or food with faecal coliform contamination,” he said.