Indian minister falls ill after drinking sewage-polluted water from holy river

A senior Indian minister, who drank a glass of dirty water that he filled from a sewage-polluted holy river to show locals it was drinkable, was hospitalized after falling sick.

The 48-year-old chief minister of Punjab, Bhagwant Mann, was said to have filled the glass with water from the ‘holy’ river Kali Bein in a bid to drink it and show locals that it was safe water, as reported by Mail Online.

A few days after drinking the water, Mann fell ill with abdominal pain and was rushed to Apollo Indraprastha Hospital at Sarita Vihar in the national capital on Wednesday.

He was discharged the next day, as reported by The New Indian Express.

Examining doctors diagnosed that he suffered an infection which caused his stomach to ache.

A multidisciplinary team of medical experts kept him under strict observation in a private ward where he remained stable. Upon being discharged, he was accompanied by his wife and sister.

A video showing the senior minister bending down, filling his glass with filthy water then drinking has gone viral since then.

Mann was seen drinking water in front of crowd of supporters.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal visited the minister in hospital on Wednesday.

Mann had drunk the glass of water from Kali Bein on the occasion of the 22nd anniversary of the cleaning of the river in Sultanpur Lodhi on Sunday.

The chief minister had announced the launch of a campaign to clean rivers and drains in the state.