Pipelines of deadly disease

The distressing death of several people in Indore and a wave of typhoid infections in Gujarat's Gandhinagar have been linked to an old and familiar scourge-contaminated municipal water supply.

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As city dwellers know, sewage intrusion into drinking water is common in India when water pressure dips and pathogens infiltrate the supply. The pollution unleashes several ailments, notably acute diarrhoeal disease, typhoid, hepatitis, gastroenteritis, and meningitis. Safe drinking water has remained elusive for millions, producing the perverse effect of making India the world's fastest-growing bottled water market. That this is the state of a lifesustaining public good in the world's most populous nation is an indictment of development policies. What happened in Indore, a mascot of the high-profile Swachh Bharat campaign, represents the abject failure of municipal authorities to carry out routine scientific checks on water quality in the Bhagirathpura area. It also underscores the low priority that political parties