Amarinder Singh orders closure of open borewells in Punjab

Chandigarh: Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh Tuesday asked the state’s disaster management group to finalise a set of standard operating procedures for manmade disasters after a two-year-old child could not be rescued alive from a 150-foot-deep borewell in Sangrur district.

Mr Singh sought reports from all deputy commissioners on all existing open borewells in the state and directed them to take immediate corrective action to prevent recurrence of such incidents in the future, an official release said.

“Have directed all DCs to ensure that no such open borewell exists in any of the districts & have asked them to submit a report within 24 hours. You can call on our helpline number 0172-2740397 if you have information about any such open borewells in your area,” the chief minister tweeted.

Headed by the chief secretary, the state disaster management group, which had been constituted to tackle natural calamities, has also been asked to study inadequacies, if any, in the relief operations, and give recommendations to ensure better and quicker operations in the future in case of any such or similar manmade disasters, the release said.

Fatehvir Singh, who had turned two on Monday, was stuck in the borewell at a depth of 125 feet. The only child of his parents, Fatehvir Singh fell into the borewell, which is in a field, while playing at Bhagwanpura village in Sangrur around 4 pm on Thursday. The borewell was covered with a cloth and the boy accidentally stepped on it.