Indore: At least seven people have died and around 149 others have been hospitalised after consuming contaminated drinking water supplied through the municipal network in Indore, triggering a major public health crisis in Madhya Pradesh’s largest city.

The outbreak was reported from the Bhagirathpura area, where residents began falling ill with symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhoea and severe dehydration over the past few days. Patients were admitted to government and private hospitals across the city, with health authorities confirming that many of them required urgent medical attention.

Initial investigations by civic officials pointed to contamination caused by a leak in a main water pipeline that passes beneath a public toilet in the area. Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) commissioner Dilip Kumar Yadav, as quoted by Times of India, said a leakage was detected in the main water supply pipeline in Bhagirathpura, above which a toilet had been constructed, leading to possible contamination of drinking water.

Residents had reportedly complained about foul-smelling and bad-tasting water days before the situation escalated.

Following the deaths, the Indore Municipal Corporation halted water supply from the affected pipeline and began distributing clean drinking water through tankers. Emergency repair work was also undertaken to fix the damaged section of the pipeline, while water samples were sent for laboratory testing. “Sewer leakages lead to such incidents, will ensure such negligence will be avoided in future”, Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav said at a press conference.

The state government took action against civic officials responsible for maintenance of the water supply system, with suspensions and dismissals announced in connection with the incident. Authorities also announced ex-gratia compensation for the families of those who died and assured free treatment for all those affected.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court took suo motu cognisance of the incident and directed the authorities to ensure uninterrupted supply of clean drinking water and proper medical care to residents of Bhagirathpura. The court also sought a detailed status report from the administration on the cause of the contamination and steps taken to prevent such incidents in the future.