Girl dies after 10 hours of battle in deep borewell

Vellore: In yet another tragedy of borewells turning into deathtraps, a farmhand’s five-year-old daughter died after 10 hours of battle at the bottom of a 300-ft borewell at Pulavanpatti near Arni, about 50 km from here, on Saturday. Devi fell into the narrow mouth of the well at about eight in the morning while playing in a groundnut field where her mother Malarkodi was working. Almost the entire Tiruvannamalai district administration descended at the mishap site in a massive rescue effort and the unconscious girl was pulled out at about 6.10 pm. She was rushed to the Vellore government hospital where doctors did their best to revive her but failed. Devi was declared dead at about 8 pm, bringing to a tragic end all those heroic efforts of hundreds of fire service, police and revenue officials, besides the medical personnel and members of public. Only in April, seven-year-old Muthulakshmi had died falling into a borewell at Aravakurichi in Karur. Dean Dr Sivakumar at Vellore GH said he and his team had tried their best to save the girl. “We even give her DC (direct current) shock hoping to revive her. She did not respond”, said the doctor looking crestfallen. The body was handed over to Devi’s family for last rites at Pulavanpatti. There was hope almost through the operation but rescue officials started to whisper doubts around 4.30 pm as the girl had by then stopped making any sound. “We have sent oxygen through pipes sunk into the well within about 40 minutes of the girl falling. We continued the oxygen supply and kept talking to her in an effort to reassure her she would come out safe. But she went silent about 90 minutes before we managed to get her”, said fire officer Vincent at the site. Next: Hard rock delayed rescue Hard rock delayed rescue Vellore: Rescue workers said Devi could have been pulled out of the deep borewell much sooner but for the presence of hard rock about 10 feet before the sandy top. They had initially believed that the crying girl was only about 30 feet down the open bore but later discovered she had slipped far below. “The hard rock delayed the rescue. We could not freely use the drilling machines as we were worried that might hurt the girl”, said a rescue official. He said oxygen was reached to the girl through pipes sent into the well and they kept talking to her in order to reassure her she would be taken out and restored to her mother soon. The girl was responding to the conversation but went silent about 90 minutes before she was finally pulled out at about 6.10 pm. “It is difficult for a child to survive this long in a well so deep and so narrow”, said a doctor involved in the massive rescue effort. The narrowness of the well prevented fresh air from reaching the victim and it was most likely there were toxic gases, he said. Next: No lesson learnt from Karur death No lesson learnt from Karur death Pramila Krishnan | DC Chennai: The world wakes up only when a child screams tripping into a deep hole in earth and then once again, everyone returns to slumber, including the administration, on this criminal tragedy of open borewells turning deathtraps. It was the turn of five-year-old Devi of Thiruvanna malai to meet death in a 300-feet borewell on Saturday while Muthu lakshmi, 7, died in similar way at Aravakurichi in Karur district five months back. Deccan Chronicle drew blank trying to track down Muthulakshmi’s family to check if they got any compensation. The parents, farm-coolies, had petitioned Karur district collector for compensation. The latter forwarded the letter to the chief minister’s cell. The distraught family was told that since they belonged to Dindigul district and had gone to Arava kurichi as migrant workers, they should only approach the Dindigul collector. “Muthulakshmi was a native of Dindigul and so we have no jurisdiction to intervene in this case after her death”, said Karur collector S Jayandhi. When asked about the case, her Dindigul counterpart N Venkatachalam told DC, “We do not know about this family. If you come to know, give us the information and we will help them with financial assistance”. Meanwhile, the owner of the farmland that consumed Muthulakshmi in its open borewell was arrested for ‘negligence causing death’ and soon came out on bail. The first hearing took place last week in this trial that is sure to go on for years considering the Indian judicial system. Muthulakshmi’s death appears to have made little impact on the farmers who continue to leave borewells open while the administration looks the other way. Soon after the tragedy, collector Jayandhi held a meeting with borewell farmers and instructed them to cover the unused/open wells. The government instructed officials down the line to maintain vigil. Devi’s death now proves that the alert has gone slack and revenue/police officials continue to be indifferent towards this menace. Next: Exploitation dries water table Exploitation dries water table Pramila Krishnan | DC Vellore: Nestled between two rivers, dried up thou gh, Arni should normally have adequate groundwater; yet, farmers in the region are forced to invest in deep borewells and are unable to strike water even then. Little girl Devi perished in a 300-ft borewell sunk by farm owner Shankar, who was disappointed that it yielded no water and did not want to waste any more money on concrete to close it. He merely plugged the narrow opening with a jute bag and the child sat on it thinking it was a comfortable seat. Devi at the emergency ward of Vellore Government Hospital. -DC Arni residents say indiscriminate and excessive sand quarrying in the riverbeds has led to the depletion of groundwater. “Exploitation of river sand led to dropping of water table, forcing farmers to sink borewells indiscriminately. They often leave them open when they don’t yield water. This child’s death must serve as an eye opener”, said Arni legislator Babu Muru gavel, adding that the region was “once famous for its rich water table”. CPI leader R. Nallakannu said local authorities should keep alert to prevent open bore wells. “The government should make it compulsory that all open borewells be sealed. We cannot wait for more deaths to happen”, he said. He said the borewell owner should be made to pay compensation to the victim’s family.