Borewell found contaminated, pipelines being probed as eight remain in hospital in Madhya Pradesh’s Mhow

A borewell has been found to be contaminated in Mhow town of Indore district in Madhya Pradesh, where at least 24 people have fallen ill allegedly due to consumption of contaminated drinking water, officials said on Saturday (January 24, 2026).

According to the officials, more than 24 people have fallen ill, mostly with jaundice, in the cantonment area of Mhow so far, prompting authorities to undertake preventive measures and launch investigations. The fresh outbreak comes less than a month after at least 15 people died in a diarrhoea outbreak in a locality in Indore city, caused by consumption of contaminated water supplied by the Indore Municipal Corporation.

Indore Divisional Commissioner Sudam Khade told The Hindu that while a local borewell had been found to be contaminated, investigation was still on to check the government water supply pipelines.

“The contamination has been reported from two lanes of the cantonment area,” he said.

Mr. Khade also said that multiple teams had been deployed in the area to survey the households in the area for symptoms.

Indore Chief Medical and Health Officer Madhav Prasad Hasani said that eight patients, including six children, were currently in the hospital for jaundice.

“Four patients have been discharged on Friday and Saturday,” he said, adding that water and blood samples had been collected from the area for testing.

Meanwhile, the Indore district administration has set up two temporary hospitals in the area to deal with any potential increase in the number of cases.

“Following the emergence of cases of stomach infection in the Patti Bazaar area of ​​Mhow in Indore district, 12 survey teams were deployed on January 23. They surveyed more than 80 houses by evening. The estimated population of the Patti Bazaar area is approximately 2,500. Two temporary hospitals have been set up in the affected area,” a statement from the district administration said.

The authorities have also deployed water tankers as an alternate source for drinking water, while asking people to avoid using borewell or pipeline water.