Indore, Jan 6 Hearing petitions over the deaths and illness caused by contaminated water supply in Indore's Bhagirathpura area, the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Tuesday directed the state chief secretary to appear before it through video conference on January 15.
The HC termed the response of the state government and local administration to the crisis as "insensitive", said High Court Bar Association president Ritesh Inani, one of the petitioners.
A division bench of Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi was hearing four or five petitions related to the incident, Inani told reporters.
"During the proceedings, the high court termed the response submitted by the government as insensitive and observed that the incident had not only shaken public trust but also adversely affected Indore's image at the national level," he said.
Referring to Indore's consistent top ranking in the Union government's annual cleanliness survey, the court remarked that such negligence in a city known for cleanliness was a matter of serious concern, Inani added.
The HC also took a strong view of the status report submitted by the Indore Municipal Corporation and the district administration regarding the death toll, and described the entire episode as extremely grave, he said.
The court would examine whether the matter involved criminal liability or civil liability, Inani added.
The chief secretary of Madhya Pradesh will have to remain present before the HC on January 15 through video conference, said Inani.
At least 38 fresh cases of vomiting and diarrhoea linked to contaminated drinking water were detected on Monday at the Bhagirathpura primary health centre, with a senior official putting the death toll so far at seven.
Six patients have been referred for treatment, and 110 are currently undergoing treatment in hospitals, including 15 in ICUs, officials said.
