The Hindu : Front Page : Boy’s body retrieved from borewell

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Aug 06, 2007
ePaper

Front Page

Front Page

Boy’s body retrieved from borewell

Special Correspondent

Officials engage a poclain and three JCB machines to retrieve the body

Hearty welcome: Nellore MLA Anam Vivekanda Reddy receiving Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy in Nellore on Sunday.

ONGOLE: A pall of gloom descended on Botlagudur village after officials on Sunday retrieved the body of six-year-old Karthik who had fallen into a borewell accidentally on Friday evening.

As hundreds of people watched in shock and dismay, mining workers retrieved the body at 3 p.m. on Sunday. Karthik`s mother and grandmother were inconsolable.

Revenue officials engaged one poclain and three JCB machines and made strenuous efforts for the last 44 hours to drill a well parallel to the borewell to reach the body lying at a depth of 40 feet.

Post-mortem

Arrangements were made for conducting the post-mortem examination at the accident spot itself and handing over the body to his parents for the last rites.

The Revenue Divisional Officer, who supervised the rescue operations, promised to sanction 2.5 acres of land, a house and compensation of Rs. 20,000 to Karthik`s family. The District Collector, K Devanand, announced relief of Rs. 50,000 under Apathbandhu scheme.

Focus has now shifted to fix responsibility for the tragedy. The Rural Water Supply Department got the borewell drilled to a depth of 200 feet near the overhead service reservoir in Botlagudur to augment drinking water supply to the village.

But it abandoned the well as it did not yield much water. The contractor removed the casing pipes also but neglected closing the borewell. He simply left the borewell putting an empty drum over it.

Unfortunate child

Karthik, while playing in the premises, kicked the drum and fell into the borewell. He got stuck at a depth of 40 feet from where the borewell was too narrow for him to pass.

Following rain in the last one week, the borewell got filled with water making the prospects of his survival bleak. Yet the district administration rushed to rescue the boy or at least retrieve his body.

TDP leader and former chairman of Zilla Parishad, Mukku Kasi Reddy, said that the RWS Department had abandoned several borewells in the same fashion. He hoped that the Botlagudur tragedy would be an-opener to officials to ensure that they were properly closed and prevent recurrence of such accidents in the State.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page