Archive · 31 Jul 2026
Bhopal Survivors Accuse City of Sewage‑Contaminated Water Supply
In Bhopal, India, people who survived a deadly gas leak in 1984 say the city is giving them dirty water that can make them sick.
They tested 63 water samples and found 43 were contaminated with germs from sewage.
The Supreme Court had told the city to fix the water and put in proper sewer lines, but the city hasn’t finished the work.
People are getting stomach aches, vomiting, and typhoid.
The survivors want the city to fix the problem quickly and keep an independent check on the water quality.
Four survivor groups claim Bhopal Municipal Corporation supplies sewage‑contaminated water to areas around the abandoned Union Carbide plant.
43 of 63 water samples from 30 localities tested positive for faecal coliform.
Supreme Court directed BMC to provide piped water and install sewerage in 2004 and 2018.
Residents report diarrhoea, vomiting, and typhoid; private clinics see many cases.
BMC has not completed the promised sewerage work in eight years.
- Who
- Survivors of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy and the Bhopal Municipal Corporation
- What
- Allegations that the city is supplying sewage‑contaminated drinking water to residential areas around the abandoned Union Carbide factory
- When
- Report released July 31, 2024; water samples collected this month
- Where
- Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
- Why
- To highlight health risks and demand completion of court‑ordered sewerage and water‑quality monitoring
- City
- Bhopal
- State
- Madhya Pradesh
- Number of contaminated samples
- 43
- Total samples
- 63
- Number of localities surveyed
- 30
- Supreme Court rulings
- 2004, 2018
- Health issues reported
- diarrhoea, vomiting, typhoid