More than ten people, including children, have lost their lives and over thousands have fallen ill in Indore, Madhya Pradesh after consuming toxic drinking water. Indore, repeatedly projected as India’s “cleanest city” under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, has turned into a death trap, poisoning its own people after drinking water pipelines leaked and mixed with sewage in the Bhagirathpura area.
This catastrophe has occurred despite over Rs 1,070 crore being allocated this year under the AMRUT 2.0 scheme for strengthening Indore’s water supply infrastructure. Where did this money go? Why were repeated complaints by residents ignored? Indore in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh has effectively become a killing field where poisoned water is pumped into working class neighbourhoods while the administration looks the other way.
The arrogance and rot of the BJP regime were on full display when Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya responded with abusive language when questioned by journalists about patients being forced to pay huge bills in private hospitals and the absence of safe drinking water arrangements.
Indore Deaths Are Only the Tip of the Iceberg in Madhya Pradesh
The Indore water killings are not an isolated incident. Madhya Pradesh has become an epicentre of administrative apathy and human tragedy under BJP rule. Just weeks ago, five children suffering from thalassemia, aged between three and fifteen, were found HIV positive after blood transfusions in the state. In October 2025, several children died after consuming cough syrups contaminated with deadly levels of diethylene glycol, an industrial solvent.
These are the outcomes of a system where regulatory oversight has been dismantled, safety checks diluted and public health sacrificed. From medicines to drinking water, toxic substances are entering everyday life. These tragedies expose the brutal reality behind the slogan of “Ease of Doing Business” and the hollow rhetoric of the “Viksit Bharat Agenda”, where the Modi-led BJP regime has deliberately dismantled regulatory safeguards, weakened testing and monitoring systems, and destroyed accountability across the country, turning people’s lives into expendable costs for profit.
CPI(ML) Liberation expresses its solidarity with the families of the deceased and all those affected. We demand free treatment for all, adequate compensation for the families of the deceased and all those affected, strict criminal action against all responsible officials and contractors, and urgent provision of free, safe and clean drinking water in all affected areas.
The responsibility for these deaths lies squarely with the BJP-led Madhya Pradesh government. The Chief Minister has completely failed to protect the lives of the people and has no moral right to continue in office.
-- Central Committee, CPI(ML) Liberation (Jan 02, 2026)
