Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will visit Madhya Pradesh’s Indore on Saturday to meet families and patients affected by a vomiting and diarrhoea outbreak linked to contaminated drinking water, the party said on Friday.
Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, will meet patients undergoing treatment at Bombay Hospital, a private facility, and later visit Bhagirathpura, the worst-hit locality, to express condolences to bereaved families.
State Congress president Jitu Patwari claimed that 24 people had died after consuming contaminated water in Bhagirathpura, while eight to 10 patients remained in critical condition. The state government, however, has maintained that seven people, including a five-month-old infant, have died in the outbreak.
Patwari said the Congress had sought permission to organise a conference in Gandhi’s presence to discuss solutions to the drinking water crisis, involving intellectuals, environmentalists and municipal councillors from across the state, but the administration denied approval.
“Hence, we will organise this conference at a later date,” Patwari said.
He further alleged that nearly 70 per cent of the water supplied in the state was contaminated and unfit for consumption, describing polluted water as “slow poison” that was causing severe damage to kidneys and other organs.
Targeting the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Patwari alleged, “Despite several deaths due to contaminated drinking water in Indore, state ministers are busy with grand events and are abusing us, asking why we are raising questions about this incident.”
Also read: After Indore tragedy, MP launches clean water campaign
Residents of Bhagirathpura have claimed that 24 people have died since the outbreak began in the locality last month.
On Thursday, the Madhya Pradesh government submitted a status report before the Indore bench of the High Court, stating that seven people had died in the outbreak.
Meanwhile, a ‘death audit’ report prepared by a committee of the government-run Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College indicated that the deaths of 15 people in Bhagirathpura could be linked, in some manner, to the outbreak.
Responding to Gandhi’s proposed visit, former Lok Sabha Speaker and senior BJP leader Sumitra Mahajan said the opposition was free to perform its democratic role.
“The opposition should do its work with full force in a democracy. Let him (Gandhi) come. If he gives some good suggestions, the concerned people should consider them,” Mahajan said.
She added that issues of public health should be addressed beyond party lines and confirmed that she had met Patwari a day ahead of Gandhi’s visit to discuss the water contamination crisis.
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