The administration in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore district has deployed survey teams and set up two temporary hospitals in Mhow after residents fell ill after consuming allegedly contaminated drinking water, PTI reported on Saturday.

In a statement, the administration said that at least 12 suspected cases of persons suffering from a stomach infection were detected in Mhow’s Patti Bazaar area on Friday. However, the news agency quoted residents as having claimed that about 24 persons had fallen ill after allegedly consuming contaminated water in the neighbourhood.

This came a month after more than 1,400 persons fell ill in Indore’s Bhagirathpura area due to water contamination, with symptoms including vomiting, diarrhoea and dehydration. The cases were first reported on December 24.

While residents of the locality had claimed that the outbreak had led to 25 deaths, a status report submitted by the state government to the court on January 15 reported seven deaths, including that of a five-month-old boy, PTI reported.

The authorities in Indore had earlier said that residents of the Bhagirathpura area had complained that the water supplied to them had an unusual smell.

In Mhow on Friday, 12 teams were deployed in Patti Bazaar on directions of District Collector Shivam Verma, and more than 80 households had been surveyed, the administration was quoted as saying in a statement.

It added that two temporary hospitals had been set up in the area.

The Mhow town, officially Dr Ambedkar Nagar, is located about 23 km away from Indore city.

Twelve suspected patients had been identified and were undergoing treatment, including some in hospital, PTI reported. Two persons had recovered and had been discharged.

Blood and water samples were being collected for testing in Patti Bazaar.

The statement added that the administration had also roped in local paediatricians and two other child specialists in the affected area, PTI reported.