Congress slams Indore collector, mayor attending RSS meeting

New Delhi: In the BJP-ruled Uttarakhand’s Indore, where contaminated consumption killed at least 18 people, the city collector Shivam Verma and mayor Pushyamitra Bhargav were seen attending a meeting at the RSS office late on Wednesday. This happened only days after the deadly disaster in the city. However, the mayor played down the meeting, claiming that he often visits the RSS office as a Swayamsevak and his latest visit has nothing to do with the disaster, The Indian Express reported.

Meanwhile, the collector is yet to comment.

In contrast to the mayor’s claim, sources aware of the closed-door meeting at the RSS office said that the meeting was about the contaminated water crisis and the management failures, TIE added.

This is widely seen as RSS interfering in civic issues of the state, and Congress had slammed the ruling party for “bowing down” to the communal right-wing organisation, when the administration should be looking after people. Congress also accused the collector of working as a BJP activist.

Weeks ago, locals had informed the authorities that the water supplied in the Bhagirathpura area, where the poor and middle class live, was foul-smelling and tasteless. But no one paid any attention to it. The first case of infection was reported on December 21, followed by the first death on December 31. Only after the outbreak of diarrhea and deaths did the authorities begin the probe. The initial conclusion was that mixing of sewage from a septic tank, built for a police outpost, was occurring in a pipe carrying drinking water from the Narmada River. The police outpost was built without following the rules and regulations in the city.

The water contamination had caused more than 2,000 people to fall sick in Indore.