DC Edit | How Indore Slipped Up

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India is not exactly the agency to monitor health threats and the quality of drinking water supplied to the people but reports of a CAG reference years ago about the possibility of an outbreak of water-borne diseases in Indore and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh have come as a chilling reminder in the backdrop of the deaths of 10 people after consuming contaminated water in Indore last week. That it happened in a city that has been adjudged the cleanest in India in consecutive years must be taken as a lesson by the authorities in all the towns and cities of the country.

The CAG report of 2019 had noted finding of harmful bacteria in water samples collected in Indore and Bhopal and pointed to “lack of monitoring of filter plants at operational level as well as distribution level”. The report also noted that the authorities concerned had assured the CAG that they will take remedial action.

The Madhya Pradesh government has admitted to the possibility of leakage of sewage from a police outpost established in the area into the pipeline. An official report said a toilet was built in the police outpost sans septic tank, resulting in sewage gathering at a nearby ditch, under which the pipeline to supply drinking water to the city from Narmada ran.

The civic authority in Indore had been implementing several visionary and pioneering projects in areas such as waste management and sanitation for years. It had involved the people in the process and put to use the best of technological tools to ensure that it has the best scientific methods to treat all kinds of waste and garbage. The latest tragedy, however, proves that there are still areas to be fixed. The civil body in Indore and the state government should thoroughly investigate and share the findings with all civic bodies and state governments so that a repeat of the tragedy can be prevented anywhere else