Punjab CM orders closure of all open borewells after child's death

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday directed the closure of all open borewells across the state in the wake of the death of a boy who had fallen into a borewell in a Sangrur village. Expressing anguish over the tragic death of 2-year-old Fatehveer, he ordered a detailed inquiry into the incident and sought reports from deputy commissioners (DCs) on open borewells.

Singh also directed the officials to take immediate action to prevent recurrence of such incidents. The chief minister, who had been personally monitoring the rescue operation, asked the Disaster Management Group headed by the chief secretary to finalise a set of SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) check such accidents.

The group, which had been constituted to deal with natural calamities, has also been asked to study the inadequacies, if any, in the relief operations, and give recommendations to ensure a better and quicker response. The boy fell into an abandoned 150-foot borewell on June 6 afternoon outside his house in Bhagwanpura village of Sunam area in Sangrur district. In a joint operation, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and local administration dug a parallel pit to rescue the child. However, he failed to survive the 108-hour ordeal.

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