Tragic Death of Boy Rescued from Borewell Marks 7th Incident in Two Years
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Bhopal, Dec 29 (NationPress) Sumit Meena, a 10-year-old boy, who was rescued from a borewell in Madhya Pradesh's Guna, has died at a district hospital on Sunday.
Sumit fell into the borewell while flying a kite with friends and cousins near his residence in Raghogarh. His rescue involved an exhausting operation lasting over 16 hours, conducted by the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and local police.
Despite the best efforts to stabilize him, the young boy succumbed shortly after his arrival at the hospital. This incident marks Sumit as the seventh victim of borewell tragedies within a span of two years (from December 2022 to 2024) across various regions of Madhya Pradesh.
Prior to this, a six-year-old boy named Mayank Kol fell into a borewell in Teonthar tehsil, Rewa district on April 12 of this year. After more than 40 hours of rescue efforts involving multiple agencies, including a team from the Indian Army, the child unfortunately did not survive. This incident led to the state administration suspending two senior officials from Janpad Teonthar due to alleged negligence.
On July 29, a three-year-old girl named Saumya Shah fell into a borewell near her home in Singrauli and sadly died after an extensive rescue operation.
In December 2023, an eight-year-old boy, Lokesh Ahirwar, lost his life after falling into a borewell in Vidisha district. Following this tragedy, the then Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, convened a high-level meeting with senior officials to order a thorough inspection of borewells throughout the state.
Another similar incident occurred on June 6, 2023, when a two-and-a-half-year-old girl, Srishti Kushwaha, fell into a borewell in the Sehore district while playing outside her home and was found at a depth of around 25 feet. Her body was recovered by the Army after extensive rescue efforts.
On December 6, 2023, a four-year-old girl named Mahi was rescued from a borewell in Rajgarh district but tragically died within hours at a hospital. Only a week earlier, a similar incident claimed the life of a three-year-old girl in Betul.
Last July, the state government mandated that borewell owners would face penalties if their borewells were left uncovered. Strict measures were proposed against borewell owners, including parents of the victims.
The administration has been inspecting open borewells across the state; however, despite these efforts, children continue to fall victim to these borewell tragedies.
