THOOTHUKUDI
Of the 1.35 lakh deep borewells in the district, 850 unused ones had been closed by officials, Collector Sandeep Nanduri said.
Speaking to reporters here on Monday, Mr. Sandeep said the district had 1.35 lakh deep borewells, including 86,892 in rural areas, 25,477 in town panchayat areas, 3,000 in Thoothukudi Corporation areas and 835 in Kovilpatti municipality areas.
Officials from various departments conducted a comprehensive survey for two weeks in the wake of the recent tragedy in Tiruchi district to identify unused deep borewells in the areas under their jurisdiction.
Consequently, 807 unused deep borewells were identified in 12 panchayat unions, 8 in town panchayats, 12 in Thoothukudi Corporation limits, 20 in Kovilpatti municipality areas and 3 more in other areas. All these unused death traps, which had been closed for now, would be converted into rainwater harvesting structures shortly.
“Some of the unused borewells may be located inside the houses or farms, which may not come to the officials’ notice. Hence, the public, on coming to know about these unused borewells, may call 1077 or Collector’s ‘Call Your Collector’ phone number to alert the officials, who will take immediate action for closing these unused borewells,” Mr. Sandeep said.
The Collector also said that all borewell firm owners should register their business with the authorities concerned by paying ₹ 15,000 as registration fee as registered firms alone would be allowed to sink deep borewells hereafter.
And, those who wanted to sink borewells should get prior permission from the officials concerned by paying ₹ 100 so that the business would be regularised and only registered firms alone would be in the business.
He said the urea shortage in the district had been assuaged with the 1,000 tonnes received last week and the 250 tonnes supplied by a private manufacturer on priority basis. Since 1,000 more tonne would arrive in Thoothukudi during this week, the farmers would get the supply on demand.
Mr. Sandeep also said the incidence of fever in the district had come down drastically, thanks to the coordinated efforts being taken by the government departments.
