NEW DELHI, Jan 4, 2026, 13:54 ET
- Indore officials confirmed six deaths in a diarrhoea outbreak linked to contaminated water; residents have claimed 16
- NDTV reported a 67-year-old patient showing symptoms consistent with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare nerve disorder
- In Karnataka, Mangaluru won power approvals for electric bus charging points, with the project awaiting central funds
A drinking-water contamination outbreak in Indore has taken a fresh turn after doctors flagged symptoms consistent with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare disorder in which the immune system attacks nerves, in a 67-year-old patient from the city’s Bhagirathpura area, NDTV reported. Officials have confirmed six deaths in the diarrhoea outbreak, while local residents have claimed the toll is 16.
The suspected neurological complication matters because it could widen the public-health response from short-term gastroenteritis to longer-term disability, raising pressure on authorities to explain what went wrong with the city’s water supply and how quickly it can be made safe. The episode has also dented the image of Indore, which has been marketed as a model for urban cleanliness and civic management.
Officials said health teams screened 9,416 people from 2,354 households and detected 20 new cases on Sunday, as they continued a door-to-door survey in the affected neighbourhood. Total hospital admissions have reached 398 since the outbreak began, with 142 patients still under treatment, including 11 in intensive care units, officials said.
NDTV said the patient, Parvati Bai Kondla, fell ill on Dec. 27 with vomiting and loose motions and was moved to Bombay Hospital in Indore on Jan. 2 after her condition worsened. A nerve conduction test showed evidence of acute nerve injury consistent with Guillain-Barre syndrome, the report said.
Indore’s chief medical and health officer, Dr Madhav Hasnani, said officials had not received an official report linking the suspected nerve disorder to the outbreak. “A single test is not enough,” he said, calling it a clinical diagnosis and saying teams were monitoring patients daily. Ndtv
A team from the Kolkata-based National Institute for Research in Bacterial Infections has arrived in Indore to support the health department’s response, officials said, adding that it is affiliated with the Indian Council of Medical Research, India’s top government health-research body.
But doctors and officials do not yet agree on whether the suspected nerve disorder is connected to contaminated water, and the death toll remains disputed between official counts and residents’ claims. Any confirmation of severe complications could force wider testing and longer hospital stays, stretching resources as screening continues in Bhagirathpura.
In southern Karnataka, the coastal city of Mangaluru is moving closer to launching electric bus services after state power distributor MESCOM and transmission utility KPTCL cleared charging points at the Kuntikan depot of the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation and at the Bejai bus stand, Daijiworld reported. Udayavani also reported the city was nearing approval for charging infrastructure ahead of electric buses starting on local roads.
Daijiworld said Mangaluru has completed a tender for 100 electric buses and is awaiting central government funding before construction begins on the charging network, with the first 50 buses expected within six months and the remaining 50 by year-end. Planners are also weighing passenger demand and road conditions on proposed routes, the report said, and overnight charging at the depot is expected to take about three hours.
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