“Safeguard discarded borewells”

Governmental agencies, departments and other private institutions and individuals should take proper steps to safeguard discarded borewells from becoming trouble spots for children and public, Collector, J. Uma Maheswari, said.

Citing the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court in that regard, Dr. Uma Maheswari sternly issued a caution that all borewells in use as also discarded should be made safe spots by taking all due precautions.

Iron casing

She has said that permission should be secured at least 15 days prior to the sinking of a bore well and added that while the bore well is being dug safety precautions such as establishing a barbed wire fence or such other safety measure should be erected around the area.

The PVC or iron casing should be secured properly at the top using a lid with bolt and nuts.

All the discarded bore wells should be filled from the bottom to the top with pebbles, gravel, dust and stone particles.

The authorized persons should ensure that the area where the bore well was sunk returned to the same position as before minimizing the discomfiture to other public, the Collector noted in a press release issued here on Monday.

Database

Noting that a lot of people were sinking bore wells in various parts of Karur district Dr. Uma Maheswari said that her office would monitor whether the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court were being followed in sinking or filling up a deep bore well.

District-level database on the status of bore wells in use or discarded would be generated and preserved at the Collectorate and would be reviewed periodically for their progress of work on safety aspects, she said.

The local bodies and the Agriculture Department would take care of collection of data in the rural areas while the concerned Ground Water Division, Municipality, Sanitation Wing and such other agencies would do the duty in the urban limits, Dr. Uma Maheswari said.

Guidelines

All work should be in line with the Supreme Court guidelines on the issue and efforts must be taken to ensure safety of the public and in particular the children from falling prey to the bore wells, the Collector noted.