India, Jan. 5 -- While contaminated drinking water has become a major public issue in Indore following 15 reported deaths, official data show that waterborne diseases have affected large populations in both Indore and Bhopal for years.

Over a six-year period, more than 545,000 people in the two largest cities of Madhya Pradesh were reported to have suffered from waterborne illnesses. The scale of the problem appears significantly greater in Bhopal, the state capital, where more than 400,000 cases of severe diarrhoea were recorded during that time.

The figures come from a report on urban water management published by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in 2019, which analysed data from 2013 to 2018. According to the report...