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News Topical, Digital Desk : The detailed programme of former Congress president and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi's proposed visit to Indore's Bhagirathpura area, affected by contaminated drinking water, on January 17, could not be finalised till late Thursday evening.
In fact, Rahul Gandhi is adamant on visiting the homes of all the victims in Bhagirathpura, whose deaths are believed to be due to contaminated water. However, the Indore administration has refused permission, citing security concerns. Administration officials have suggested that Rahul meet the affected families at a specific location, but this has not been agreed upon.
Sushant Mishra, representative of Rahul Gandhi's office from Delhi, reached Bhagirathpura.
On Thursday afternoon, Sushant Mishra, a representative from Rahul Gandhi's office, arrived in Bhagirathpura from Delhi. Accompanied by local Congress leaders, he toured the area, gathering information about the homes where the deaths occurred. The Congress party then provided a list of the deceased's names and addresses to the Indore administration, expressing its desire to have Rahul Gandhi meet their relatives at their homes.
But administration officials told Congress leaders that Rahul Gandhi's security team and vehicles would be unable to navigate the area's narrow streets. Therefore, permission to visit the homes of all the deceased could not be granted.
Congress leaders have currently refused the administration's suggestion to convene the affected families at a single location for Rahul Gandhi to meet. Therefore, it is likely that after some negotiations, 10 to 12 homes may be finally selected for Rahul Gandhi's visit.
On the other hand, Madhya Pradesh Congress leaders wanted to hold a conference of urban body representatives in Indore in view of Rahul Gandhi's visit, but their Delhi office instructed them to include only Bhagirathpura in the programme.
In addition, all district Congress organizations in the state have been instructed to hold fasts and Satyagraha in their respective areas on January 17th to protest the Bhagirathpura incident. As of Thursday, 24 people have died in Indore's Bhagirathpura area. More than 3,300 people have fallen ill.
The government has not attributed all deaths to contaminated water; 24 deaths have occurred so far.
Meanwhile, the Madhya Pradesh government and Indore administration are still hesitating in acknowledging the deaths caused by contaminated water in Bhagirathpura. Five public interest litigations filed in the High Court were heard simultaneously on Thursday. Chief Secretary Anurag Jain, appearing via video conferencing on court orders, acknowledged that contaminated water had caused deaths, but how many?
The High Court's question stumped him. The government lawyer told the court that the administration's report submitted Thursday morning acknowledged 21 deaths, but only 15 of them were caused by contaminated water. The rest died from other illnesses.
One more victim succumbs, taking the death toll to 24
Meanwhile, another woman died on Thursday. This marks the 24th death due to contaminated drinking water. The deceased, 78-year-old Subhadradai Panwar, was a resident of Bhagirathpura. She had been ill since December 27th. Her son, Manish Panwar, said she was admitted with complaints of vomiting and diarrhea. She died in the ICU on Thursday morning.
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