Day after dy CM’s admission of 22 deaths, Vijayvargiya admits negligence caused Bhagirathpura water tragedy

Bhopal: Day after, deputy chief minister Rajendra Prasad Shukla admitted in the MP assembly that 22 people died of diarrhoea following contaminated water supplied in in Indore's Bhagirathpura locality, minister for urban administration Kailash Vijayvargiya on Friday accepted that the incident is a "blot" on Indore city and it was caused by negligence. The minister said that the govt has learned a lesson from the incident and is ensuring prompt action on any complaint received of contaminated water supply. Addressing the House during the introduction of an adjournment motion discussion on the Bhagirathpura tragedy, Vijayvargiya said, "This incident is certainly very serious. It's extremely shameful, and in a way, a matter of concern for all of us."He told the House, "We accept that the incident occurred. We also accept that the incident was caused by negligence. The chief minister punished those who were negligent, and we have learned a lesson from this. We have developed an action plan to address the water pollution not only in Bhagirathpura, not just in Indore, but throughout Madhya Pradesh."The minister said that the cause of deaths of 22 persons is diarrhoea and the families of victims have been paid a total compensation of Rs 44 lakh. Vijayvargiya also mentioned that chief minister Mohan Yadav has said that compensation will be increased."It is true that we had resources, we had funds and the state govt gave money for the municipal corporation, but the work wasn't completed on time, which led to this incident. I accept this, and that's why we've ensured action against the officials," Kailash Vijayvargiya said. He claimed that after the incident all water tanks have been cleaned in Indore city."We have worked to repair all the leaks and, on the instructions of the chief minister, have established a control room throughout Madhya Pradesh. We have developed an action plan to ensure immediate action is taken on complaints of dirty water across the state," he said.He said that a 16 km water supply line is being laid in Bhagirathpura. "The mistake that has happened is being rectified," the minister defended. "Presently, 55 tankers are supplying water in that area," he said. He said that a medical team has been stationed in Bhagirathpura to keep a vigil on the health of people in the area. Vijayvargiya further claimed that the water line of entire Indore will be relaid as part of the Amrit Yojana 1.0 and Amrit Yojana 2.0 at a cost of Rs 6000 crore."We are laying them all along," the minister, who is a resident of Indore said. "The fourth phase of the Narmada River will come, and when the fourth phase arrives, our water problem for the next 20 years will be solved. We are residents of Indore, we are proud, and we know how to rise after a fall. I want to say that this is a blur on our city, and this stain hurts us deeply. We will strive to overcome this stain and make Indore Number One again," he added.