Indore water contamination: No consensus on death toll as locals, CM & Mayor offer different figures
Indore (PTI): Conflicting claims over the number of deaths caused by consumption of contaminated water in Indore continued on Thursday, with residents claiming 13 fatalities, a day after Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav put the toll at four, while the city Mayor said seven persons lost life.
Cases of people suffering from diarrhoea and vomiting were first reported in the Bhagirathpura area of the city a week back. Local residents claimed that 13 people, including a six-month-old child, have died so far, while officials said only four deaths have been confirmed.
After visiting the affected area on Wednesday, CM Yadav pegged the death toll at four. Hours later, Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava confirmed seven deaths.
The confusion over the death toll still continues due to these different numbers.
Officials said a preliminary assessment indicated that drainage water entered the drinking water pipeline due to leakage, triggering the outbreak in Bhagirathpura.
Bhagirathpura falls under the Indore-1 assembly constituency of state Urban Development and Housing Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya.
Talking to reporters, Vijayvargiya said 1,400 to 1,500 people were affected by the outbreak, of whom around 200 were admitted to hospitals.
All the admitted patients were out of danger and were being discharged continuously as their condition improved.
On the varying death figures, Vijayvargiya said, "Administrative officials have informed me that four people have died due to this outbreak, but there is information here (in Bhagirathpura) about eight to nine deaths. We will verify this information and if it is found to be correct, financial assistance will be provided to the families of the deceased as announced by CM Mohan Yadav."
Meanwhile, Additional Chief Secretary Sanjay Dubey visited the Bhagirathpura area along with local officials to review the situation.
Officials said water supply was restored in Bhagirathpura on Thursday after repairing the leakage in the drinking water pipeline, and water samples were collected from households and sent for testing.
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Former Australian cricketer Damien Martyn is in serious condition in a Gold Coast hospital
Brisbane (AP): Former cricketer Damien Martyn, who played 67 test matches for Australia, is in a serious condition in a Gold Coast hospital south of Brisbane, Australian media reported Wednesday.
The 54-year-old former right-hand batter had fallen ill in recent days, with Nine Newspapers reporting he is in an induced coma and fighting a bout of meningitis.
“Lots of love and prayers sending (at) damienmartyn way. Keep strong and fighting legend. Love to the family,” former test teammate Darren Lehmann wrote on social media.
A spokesperson for Gold Coast Health said that Martyn “remains in a serious condition at the Gold Coast University Hospital.”
Speaking to News Corp., close friend and former Australian test wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist said: “He is getting the best of treatment and (Martyn's partner) Amanda and his family know that a lot of people are sending their prayers and best wishes.”
Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg wished Martyn a quick recovery.
“I'm saddened to hear of Damien's illness. The best wishes of everyone at CA and in the wider cricket community are with him at this time,” said Greenberg.
Martyn's seemingly effortless stroke play was his strength, averaging 46.37 with the bat in test matches.
Born in Darwin, Martyn earned a test debut at 21 replacing Dean Jones in the 1992-93 home series against West Indies and was Western Australia's captain at 23.
His high score of 165 came against New Zealand in 2005, one of his 13 test centuries.
Martyn played his final test at Adelaide Oval in the 2006-07 Ashes series before moving into commentary work.
Martyn played 208 one-day internationals, averaging 40.8. He was part of Australia's squad that won the 1999 and 2003 World Cups, scoring an unbeaten 88 in the final against India in 2003 while batting with a broken finger, and was also a member of the winning 2006 Champions Trophy squad.
