The Water Divide

In Indore, Madhya Pradesh, at least four people, including a baby, have officially died after consuming municipality-supplied water. Unofficial estimates put the death toll at 14.

• Over 2,000 people fell ill, more than 200 were hospitalized, and 32 were admitted to ICUs.

Irony of the Crisis

• Cleanest City: The tragedy is striking because Indore has been ranked India’s cleanest city for several consecutive years. The city is known for exemplary waste segregation and cleanliness practices.

Governance Failure and Blame Game

• Response: Authorities attributed the crisis to delays in installing a fresh water supply line. A committee has been constituted to investigate the incident.
• Scale of Preventable Failure: The situation should not have escalated into a fatal public health crisis. This is the second water-related incident in Madhya Pradesh in the past two months.
  • Students at the Vellore Institute of Technology campus near Bhopal protested the contaminated water supply. 
  • Several students contracted jaundice due to unsafe drinking water.
  • Jaundice is caused by the Hep-A/E virus, which is found in sewage-contaminated water.

Issues regarding the Water Supply

• Paradox of Schemes: Water problems persist despite progress under the Swachh Bharat Mission and Jal Jeevan Mission.
  • Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM): Focuses on improving sanitation and cleanliness to enhance public health outcomes.
  • Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM): Aims to provide ‘Har Ghar Jal’ by ensuring 55 litres per capita per day of safe drinking water to every rural household.
• Quality versus Access: The focus of the schemes is on access and quantity of water supply. 
  • However, providing access to water is meaningless unless water quality is ensured.
• NFHS Data on Water Access: The National Family Health Survey shows that 96% of households use an improved drinking water source. 
  • Improved sources refer to infrastructure such as piped water supply or borewells.
  • However, an improved source does not guarantee safe drinking water.
  • The classification focuses only on the presence of infrastructure, not on the bacterial or chemical quality of water.
  • This creates a policy trap in which installing pipes is assumed to mean that the water problem has been solved, even when safety is not assured.
• Failure of Monitoring: If proper checks and balances had been in place, contamination in Indore would have been detected earlier. 

Health and Economic Burden

• Population Context: India has an approximate population of 147 crore people, which amplifies the impact of public health failures.
• Water-Borne Diseases: Unsafe drinking water contributes to diseases such as cholera, typhoid, dysentery, and jaundice.
• Economic Cost: Water-related illnesses lead to wage loss among the poor and increase out-of-pocket health expenditure.
• Constitutional Angle: The lack of access to safe drinking water amounts to a violation of Article 21, which guarantees the right to life.
• Supreme Court Ruling: The Supreme Court has recognised that the right to clean drinking water is a fundamental right under the Constitution.
  

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Way Forward

• Delivery Point Check: Water quality must be tested at consumer taps, and not limited only to treatment plants.
• Use of Smart Technology: IoT sensors should be deployed to detect pressure drops and leaks in water supply systems in real time.
• Infrastructure Overhaul: Old and decaying pipelines must be replaced to prevent contamination.
• Strict Enforcement and Accountability: Negligence must be punished strictly, as accountability is central to effective water governance.

Conclusion

The Madhya Pradesh incidents should serve as a warning for India’s water management systems. Cities must urgently improve water quality management. Failure to act risks repeated public health disasters and avoidable loss of life.

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