The youth wing of the Madhya Pradesh Congress has initiated a nine-day ‘Jan Adhikar Nyay Yatra’ in Indore, emphasizing clean drinking water and increased compensation for families affected by contaminated water in Bhagirathpura. State Youth Congress media cell chairman Abhigyan Shukla stated that the march commenced at the statue of Devi Ahilya in Rajwada and will traverse all Assembly segments of Indore district over the nine days.
This protest march will concentrate on one Assembly constituency daily, walking 10 to 15 km to communicate the primary goal to the public. The Youth Congress is demanding stringent action against those accountable for the deaths linked to the water crisis in Bhagirathpura, as mentioned by Shukla.
Congress workers are advocating for accountability from state Urban Development Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya and Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargav. Additionally, the party is requesting Rs 1 crore compensation for each affected family and a judicial investigation into the incident.
The state government has announced compensation of Rs 2 lakh for 23 families, while the Congress has provided Rs 1.5 lakh to each of the 24 victims’ families during Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Bhagirathpura on January 17.
During a hearing at the Indore Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, the state government disclosed that a five-member death audit committee from MGM Medical College in Indore found that 16 of the 23 deaths resulted from an epidemic triggered by contaminated water. Reports on the remaining five deaths are pending.
A commission led by a former High Court judge has been established by a division bench of Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi to investigate the water contamination in Bhagirathpura. The panel has been instructed to present an interim report within four weeks of commencing the proceedings.
