The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : BBMP covers open borewell

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Sunday, May 06, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

BBMP covers open borewell

Staff Reporter

BEFORE AND AFTER: The open borewell (left) that was closed by the BBMP. The action of the civic body has brought joy to the residents of the area who were always worried about the safety of their children.

Bangalore: T.N. Satyavati of Kempe Gowda Nagar is delighted. The abandoned borewell that had been a potential death trap for children in this part of T. Dasarahalli has been finally sealed by the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), following a report in The Hindu on Friday.

The residents had tried to protect their children by placing three big rocks on the mouth of the borewell.

"We are overjoyed that the BBMP has responded to our concerns," said Ms. Satyavati, who earlier worried for her children whenever they stepped out to play in the cul-de-sac where the borewell posed such a threat. "It had been so many days since we complained, and we were beginning to lose hope that anything would be done at all."

Between Friday and Saturday, the BBMP swung into action, laid new sewage pipes and sealed the well which ran several hundred feet deep. "And after a very long time, our street is well lit now as they have fixed the streetlamp." The children are back playing, the foul smell emanating from the borewell (it had struck a sewage pipe) is gone and no one is afraid of venturing out on this street anymore.

Zonal Joint Commissioner for Dasarahalli K.R. Ramakrishna said there were no more open borewells in the area. Of the 117 manholes identified, 20 had already been closed and the rest of the work would be completed in a week. Several streetlamps had been repaired too, and an electrical executive engineer appointed.

Five or six borewells are dug every day in the former CMC areas, including Dasarahalli, which have been newly added to the city limits, according to L. Sathyanarayana, Chief Engineer, BBMP. As most of these areas are not yet entirely supplied with piped water, they are heavily dependent on groundwater, he said.

What could pose a hazard here, however, is the fact that the majority of borewells sunk are generally unsuccessful and are abandoned. "In Mahadevapura, for instance, of the 47 borewells dug, 26 have been unsuccessful," Mr. Sathyanarayana said. In these cases, the wells are either sealed with a lid or filled with earth to avoid someone, especially small children, falling in.

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