A total of 12,385 defunct borewells located in rural areas have been sealed in the last six days.
The State government launched a drive to seal open borewells after a six-year-old boy fell into one at Sulikeri village in Bagalkot district on August 3.
Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) H.K. Patil told presspersons on Tuesday that of the 13,509 defunct borewells in the jurisdiction of rural local bodies in the State, 12,385 had been closed. August 15 is the last day to seal all such defunct borewells.
All defunct borewells have been sealed in 23 districts: Bagalkot, Bangalore Rural, Bangalore Urban, Belgaum, Bellary, Bidar, Bijapur, Chamarajanagar, Chikmagalur, Chickballapur, Chitradurga, Davangere, Gadag, Gulbarga, Haveri, Kodagu, Mandya, Mysore, Ramangaram, Tumkur, Udupi, Uttar Kannada and Yadgir.
The highest number of borewells were sealed in Bagalkot (1,527) followed by Koppal (1,508), Ramanagaram (1,500), and Hassan (1461). The panchayat development officers would collect information from citizens and ensure sealing of all defunct borewells in the private sector. A survey of private borewells was under way and all defunct ones would be capped by August-end, Mr. Patil said.
Citizens can contact RDPR officials by calling toll-free number 18004258666.
After consultations with the Mines and Geology Department, a detailed circular would be issued to set conditions for drilling borewells, he said.
