"Don't Know What I'll Do": Grief Engulfs Families After Indore Water Tragedy

While officials have confirmed several deaths due to Indore's water contamination, families of the victims insist the count is higher.

01 Jan 2026, 07:43 · www.ndtv.com

Outside a modest home on Bhatta Road in Indore, a plastic chair sits empty in the winter sun. For years, 70-year-old Nandlal Pal used to sit there every morning watching the street, greeting neighbours, waiting for the day to unfold. This week, the chair remains, but the man is gone.

Nandlal Pal died on Tuesday morning after being hospitalised with severe vomiting and diarrhoea. Doctors have cited cardiac arrest as the cause of death; his family, however, believes his condition worsened only after he consumed contaminated tap water.

"He was absolutely fine. After drinking that water, everything changed," said his 30-year-old son Siddharth Pal, holding his father's photograph close to his chest. Siddharth is Nandlal's only son. His two sisters are married and live elsewhere. Their mother passed away years ago. The household had just the two of them.

"I had gone to Omkareshwar for a day. I gave the neighbour the key and told my father to open the door at 7 am. Instead, I got a call saying he was very unwell. I rushed back immediately," Siddharth recalled.

Neighbours changed Nandlal's clothes and took him to the hospital. Doctors said his blood pressure was dropping and his symptoms were not improving. "They tried everything. But by Tuesday morning, he couldn't even speak," Siddharth said.

An ambulance was arranged to shift him to another hospital, but he died before further treatment could begin.

Since his death, relatives have gathered at the house, but Siddharth said no political leader or official has come to meet the family. "Media people helped when the body was taken away. We were told compensation would come, but no one has come home," he said.

He also said no alternative drinking water has been arranged. "We leave the tap water aside, filter it, and then drink it - that's what we used to do. Now we are scared. We fetch water from a borewell far away."

Indore seven times in a row declared India's cleanest city has been shaken by an acute diarrhoeal outbreak in Bhagirathpura, allegedly linked to contaminated drinking water. While officials have confirmed several deaths, families insist the count is higher and that the real cost of the crisis is being measured not only in numbers, but in grief, debt, and silence.

Standing beside the empty chair, Siddharth looked at it for a long moment.

"I don't know what I will do with the money. He will never come back to sit on that chair again," he said.

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