The Hindu : Front Page : Mudslides hampered rescue effort

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Tuesday, Oct 14, 2008
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Mudslides hampered rescue effort

— Photo: PTI

Tragic end: Army personnel bring out the body of Sonu, who fell into a borewell four days ago, at a village in Agra on Monday.

Agra: The body of two-year-old Sonu was pulled out by rescue workers, four days after he fell into a 150-foot deep borewell at Shamsabad town.

Army and paramilitary personnel joined locals in digging a parallel tunnel soon after the incident on Thursday at Lehrakapura but the rescue work was hampered by frequent mudslides due to the soggy nature of the soil as the site was located near a pond.

“He [Sonu] is no more,” S.N. Medical College Principal N.C. Prajapati said after the boy was examined at the district hospital on Monday. The body has been sent for post mortem. The child had been stuck in the borewell at a depth of about 70 feet. No movement was noticed nor any sound heard from him two hours after he fell into the well, rescue workers said.

2 suspended

The district administration has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident. It has placed under suspension two officials of the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam for negligence as they allegedly left the borewell uncovered.

This is the second incident in the district in four months. Two-year-old girl Vandana fell into a borewell, but she was rescued after over 26 hours of efforts.

Sonu’s family will be given Rs. 1 lakh from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, District Magistrate Anil Kumar said here.

The grieving family blamed the authorities for the boy’s death. The child’s father Pappu accused the officials of mishandling the rescue operation. The inconsolable mother refused to speak to anyone. — PTI

New Delhi Staff Reporter writes:

Condoling with the death, President Pratibha Patil called for concerted efforts by various Ministries to ensure that safety standards were maintained while digging borewells.

Expressing concern over the frequency of such incidents, the President’s Office issued advisories to the Ministries of Rural Development, Urban Development, Water Resources and Home to prescribe necessary safety standards.

“The President has been very concerned about such incidents happening frequently. She has instructed all the Ministries concerned to ensure that basic minimum standards of safety are adhered to and to inform their respective field formations to ensure their strict compliance,” said a Rashtrapathi Bhavan aide.

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