Apathy, disregard for testing methods & ‘cleanest city’ paradox

Indore, Jan 29: In Bhagirathpura area of the city, people are still living in fear even after the laying of new pipelines and multiple drinking water sample tests. The death toll has reached 30 so far. 

Groundwater expert Sudhindra Sharma, who previously worked for the Ministry of Drinking Water (now the Ministry of Jal Shakti), held a detailed discussion on this issue and shared multiple facts along with solutions. Here’s what the expert has to say:

The first thing is to understand the root of the problem—and to remove from our minds the idea that this is only Indore’s problem. This is a problem for almost the entire country. There are two major things we completely ignore: water and quality. We pay attention to water only when it stops coming, and we are generally careless about the quality of anything. Instead, our entire focus remains on quantity.

When water does not come, complaints are made immediately, and the administration and municipal corporation respond quickly. But when water is dirty, the response time becomes longer. In Bhagirathpura, too, people were saying they had been complaining about dirty water for a long time. In such situations, people are advised to boil water, filter it, or discard the initial flow from taps — but no attention is given to improving the actual quality of water.

The same happened in Bhagirathpura. But no one tried to find out where this dirty water was entering the pipeline from in the first place.

A dangerous situation arises when there is no water inside drinking water pipelines. This creates negative pressure inside the pipe—meaning external subsoil pressure becomes higher than the internal pipe pressure. In such conditions, water accumulated from leaking drainage lines (which are always full) gets sucked into the drinking water pipelines.

So, when dirty water first came out of the taps, it was a major warning sign that there was leakage and contamination somewhere. If the problem had been identified and fixed at that stage, this disaster would never have happened.

Testing method

In drinking water systems, after testing, sampling, and monitoring, the next stage is surveillance. For this, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has prepared a 600-page manual, of which about 60 pages are dedicated solely to water testing.

In Chapter 8, it is clearly stated that water quality sampling and testing should be done in such a way that the entire city is covered within 30 days. It also states that one sample must be taken for every 10,000 people. This is not a big task. Typically, one ward has about 20,000 people, so only two samples per ward per day are required.

For example, in a city like Indore with a population of 3 million, only 10 samples per day were needed, which would mean 300 samples per month. But this process must be regular and daily.

These 10 samples should not be taken from the same locations. They must be taken from different areas, following a rotational grid pattern so that all areas are covered. This is the standard sampling grid and pattern — but it has not been followed here.

There was a lack of attention to sampling and testing, no proper monitoring, and after that, no effective surveillance. The monitoring data should go to experts, who analyse it, identify hotspots, and then recommend where more testing is required. Only then do specific results and targeted solutions emerge.

In the Bhagirathpura case, failure occurred at multiple levels. That is why the problem was detected only after a disease outbreak occurred.

I am also confused about what our indicators are. How do we predict in advance that the water of a particular area is deteriorating?

Water ‘getting polluted’

For years, Indore’s groundwater has been getting polluted. But “getting polluted” is the language of the common man, not of an expert. An expert needs solid data, analysis and reports to make such a claim. Today, we have so many technological facilities. We should have everything mapped on a single platform—where how many borewells are located, how pipelines are laid, and so on. Technologies like remote sensing and GIS are now easily available, but they require data, which we currently do not have.

Let me explain this with a small example. Suppose we take one parameter: nitrate. Ordinary people may not know this, but I believe municipal engineers should. If nitrate is found in borewell water, it indicates a possibility of sewage contamination, because nitrate enters groundwater either through the use of chemical fertilisers in agriculture or sewage contamination. According to standards, a nitrate level of 45 mg per litre is considered the danger mark.

Now the irony is this: until it reaches 46 mg, we remain inactive. Suppose in one year, the nitrate level in my borewell is 12 mg/l. The next year it becomes 22, and in the third year it reaches 32. At this stage itself, officials should become alert that something is going wrong. They should not wait for it to cross the danger limit. But that is not how the system works.

In reality, our indicator is not data. Our indicator is this: when a child or an elderly person in a particular lane or house falls ill, only then do we run. That means the child or the elderly person becomes our “parameter” and “indicator.” In other words, the system works like a thermometer—it reacts only after the fever appears. Whereas our focus should be on systematic monitoring and surveillance.

Cleanest city paradox

Before that, I want to clarify one more thing. The common statement that “this happened in the cleanest city of the country” also needs fact-checking. We are talking only about surface cleanliness here.

Indore has won the cleanliness award eight times, and that is not wrong at all — because the award criteria do not include drainage systems or drinking water. The number one ranking is based only on surface sanitation parameters, and in that sense, even today, Indore is number one.

Whose fault is it? Who should be blamed?

I do not consider the public to be at fault in this matter. If we have the right to live, we will obviously demand facilities and systems for ourselves. If I am not getting water, I will get a borewell dug.

In fact, the Government of India guidelines provide that if the Municipal Corporation is unable to supply water, then, after informing the corporation, a person living in any area can get a private borewell installed for drinking water. Most people are not even aware of this.

However, using water sources responsibly and taking care of them should be the responsibility of the public. For this, continuous community-level training and capacity building are necessary. Ultimately, however, the responsibility rests with the administration — to monitor every process. In such a situation, strict rules and laws are required. Ultimately, the responsibility lies with the system.

Yes, the public is more responsible in situations driven by greed—such as encroachment on green belts, encroachment on water sources, excessive storage of water, or installing motors to extract as much water as possible. But even here, the issue ultimately comes back to governance and the system.

Public participation

In our country, the term “public participation” has been widely misused. True public participation means that people have control over processes and are aware of the system’s decisions. From pipelines to testing, reports should transparently reach the public. When a problem arises, the public should be able to clearly see it and inform the system.

Both awareness and information must reach the public clearly. Water is a technical issue. If it is to be used responsibly, we must ensure that distribution, equity, quality, sustainability, and accessibility are all being addressed. For this, the government and administration will have to take leadership responsibility.

AMRIT 2.0

In this context, it is essential to also mention AMRIT 2.0. This is a 10-year development project under which Indore has received a fund allocation of Rs 1,075 crore. The project includes work such as establishing new water treatment plants, repairing existing treatment plants, laying new pipelines, repairing old pipelines, conducting surveys, and other related infrastructure works. This project has been underway for about two years now—so it becomes important to ask: how much work has actually been completed?

In this context, mapping of the distribution network, preparation of drawings, and bringing them onto a GIS platform would be extremely helpful. This would not only assist engineers, but would also enable citizens to directly view the status of pipelines in their areas. It could emerge as a strong example of public participation.

As per the manual, the water quality tests conducted by the administration are also recommended to be uploaded on the official website for public access. It is mandatory that these reports be shared with citizens once every month. Even garbage collection vehicles can be used as an effective medium to disseminate these reports to every household. This would not only ensure transparency but would also benefit the municipal corporation itself.

Toxic state of the Khan river

Indore has a river called the Khan River, which flows northwards. Over the years, it has effectively turned into a sewer contamination carrier or a sewer contamination route, a reality that is largely being ignored. It is extremely important to identify how much sewage water enters the river between Rajwada and Baghirathpura. By the time it reaches Baghirathpura, the river becomes significantly larger in volume.

Since Baghirathpura lies completely downstream, it receives the maximum level of sewer contamination. A crucial point to note is that wherever this river flows through soil-based areas, it deposits contaminated water into the soil.

So, even if the sewer lines in Baghirathpura are changed or repaired, if contamination has occurred upstream along the river’s route, the polluted water that has already seeped into the soil can still enter drinking water pipelines through leakages and punctures. This means that the residents of Baghirathpura may not have consumed only locally contaminated water—it is entirely possible that they consumed contaminated water originating from Jawahar Marg or other areas.

Therefore, the entire process must be understood and planned holistically. When we talk about river cleaning, we often forget this basic interconnected reality — that everything is linked. Even though the incident surfaced in Baghirathpura, it could have happened anywhere, and in fact, is happening elsewhere too. So why don’t we stop treating the Khan River as a sewage dumping system? A massive part of the problem could be solved if there is real intent to act.

There is a serious lack of communication and coordination between disease burden surveillance systems and Public Health Engineering departments (which manage drinking water and sanitation systems). This gap must be addressed, and it can only be corrected effectively at the ward level.

If citizens are paying taxes, it is the municipal corporation’s responsibility to protect and care for them. Excuses like staff shortages or administrative limitations are not acceptable here.

Training and capacity building

In government departments, both training and capacity building have been included in programmes, but their real meaning has been completely forgotten. They have become mere routines. In reality, the entire municipal corporation needs basic training.

Even today, we have a small device to measure chlorine—the chloroscope—and even that is not available in sufficient numbers. In a city like Indore, we still use test tubes to check the chlorine level in water. Because of this, sometimes excess chlorine is added to the water.

There is a budget allocated for this equipment, and it is also purchased, but sometimes it is not maintained properly, and sometimes the people who are supposed to use it are not present on site. And those who are present often do not even know how to use it.

Supplying drinking water daily to a population of 3 million is not a joke. We do have planning for sourcing and distributing water. You cannot blame the government for everything. Indore mainly receives water from the Narmada River, which provides completely clean water up to the city’s entry point. Our treatment plants are also functioning very well. The water that reaches the tanks is also clean. The main problem lies in the distribution lines from the tanks. So, if every person involved in water distribution works honestly, there would be no complaints at all.

Confusion about ‘Cleanest City’ and ‘Smart City’

Cleanest means the superlative degree of clean — so yes, we are the ‘cleanest,’ but that does not mean we are completely clean.

In the Swachhata Survey, there are more than 450 cities, and we have been ranking number one for the past eight years. But it is important to understand on what parameters we are getting these marks. Are they only based on surface cleanliness? If so, and if drinking water and groundwater cleanliness are not included, then this is something to seriously think about.

These parameters are not included in the Swachhata Survey because they are indirect parameters. The direct parameter should be: how many people in your city are actually getting safe drinking water? Around 90% are getting it. But which day the remaining 10% will suddenly start receiving contaminated water should be determined by a monitoring system. And if that monitoring system does not exist or is not functioning, then all of this becomes meaningless.

Then comes the concept of the Smart City. People do not really understand the Smart City Project; in fact, most people have misconceptions about it. Under the Smart City Project, mainly a particular area is selected for development, called ABD (Area-Based Development). But technically, a smart city means a city that can take decisions on its own.

Your system should be such that citizens themselves can see that dirty water is coming in their area, report it, and the supply from that point can be immediately shut off by locating it on a map. This kind of automation should exist in our city. It is possible, but it has not been implemented.

We can install sensors for online monitoring, which would provide real-time data that engineers can monitor continuously. Why is this not being done easily? This is a big question. We have a budget of Rs 1,075 crore — not just one or two crore rupees. We can install sensors anywhere after water leaves the tank so that if something goes wrong, the supply can be stopped immediately. This is what a smart city should actually mean.

Suppose the Government of India’s Smart City Project did not exist — would we just sit idle? We are a major city. A city that pays substantial taxes. A city whose large part is considered prosperous. But what is the use of this prosperity if we cannot provide clean drinking water even to the people who fall outside the boundaries of this prosperity? Then our being “intelligent” or “smart” has no meaning.

This is where the strongest form of public participation can emerge — where all the prosperous, educated, and enlightened citizens of the city collectively take responsibility for making the city clean and developed at every level.

We wear good clothes and look good on the outside, but if our minds are polluted and our thoughts are corrupt, then outer beauty has no meaning. Therefore, cleanliness must exist underground as much as it exists above ground.

(As told to Swati Shaiwal)