Dear Sujith, we, as a country, are very sorry
Borewell accidents are happening because states have not implemented the SC’s rules on borewell monitoring
Borewell: This water and agriculture -related infrastructure spells life for many and death to some. The victims of this seemingly harmless infrastructure are small children, too small to understand their use.
It was in July 2006 when its risks first made an impression on the whole nation’s consciousness. Four-year-old Prince from Kurukshetra, Haryana, was trapped in a borewell for 48 hours. With a nation praying fervently for the child’s safety, the media broadcast his agony round the clock. Thirteen years from that day, today he is in class 10. That another child did not make it out of a borewell alive last week is testimony to the fact that we have not learnt much from Prince’s ordeal.
The country’s borewell monitoring system is still lax and our attitude is casual. We don’t seem to realise that borewells, left unattended, can kill more children than we think. This is why we lost another child last week. Two-year-old Sujith Wilson from Tamil Nadu died after bravely battling the odds for 80 hours after several agencies strived to save him, but failed.
Dear Sujith, we, as a nation, are sorry. But no amount of floral and verbal tributes can suppress our lack of preparedness in tackling the silent menace. My apologies to you because we lost you despite the Supreme Court (SC) issuing clear instructions on borewell monitoring to all state governments in an order on August 6, 2010. We lost you, despite a letter dated August 21, 2019, from the then water resources ministry and the present jal shakti ministry to all chief secretaries of the states, drawing attention towards this menace. We lost you, despite the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) writing to the states after the apex’s court’s directions.
The SC didn’t just issue instructions; it was the Writ of Mandamus, which means a command from the highest court to the public authority to do its duty. But they failed to discharge their duties. In spite of the Supreme Court’s directive to all state governments, borewells continue to claim lives. This is evidence, if any were needed, that public officials have failed, and, as a country, we have failed in our duties.
In its order, the SC laid down comprehensive instructions, such as notifying the competent authority 15 days before drilling borewells, registering all drilling contractors with the district administration, erecting sign boards near the well site, the construction of a platform around the well, barbed wire around the opening of the borewell, mandatory covering of the tubewell, filling abandoned borewells with sand and boulders, and keeping a record of the status of all borewells in a given area.
Most borewells are constructed for agricultural purposes. The borewell in which Sujith slipped and fell into, and in which he finally died an untimely death, was located on his family’s farm land. This means that our farming community has to undertake stringent precautions to avoid such mishaps. In our federal structure, water, land and agriculture all come under the jurisdiction of the states. Therefore, the states have to do their duty, and follow the SC instructions in full. At the Union ministry, our task is limited to drawing their attention to the order laid down by the apex court.
Thirteen years ago, when Prince underwent his ordeal, we turned it into a media spectacle and yet failed in doing the obvious. May Sujith’s unfortunate demise jolt our conscience and move us into action. Little Sujith, we are sorry once again, but as a nation, we promise you that your death shall serve as a continuous reminder to us. It shall push us to be more conscientious, and in doing so, we will do justice to you and to your memory.