45 borewells sealed in Punjab after child's death in Sangrur village

As many as 45 borewells have been sealed across the state in a bid to prevent recurrence of the tragic incident in which a 2-year-old boy died after remaining inside a borewell for 108 hours in Sangrur village, said Punjab Chief Minister's Office (CMO) on Wednesday.

Earlier on Tuesday, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had directed the closure of all open borewells across the state in the wake of the death of the boy -- Fatehveer -- who had fallen into a borewell.

Singh has ordered a detailed inquiry into the incident and sought reports from Deputy Commissioners (DCs) on open borewells. He has also directed the officials to take immediate action to prevent recurrence of such incidents.

The Chief Minister, who was personally monitoring the rescue operation, has asked the Disaster Management Group headed by the Chief Secretary to finalise a set of SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) to 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 the local administration dug a parallel pit to rescue the child. However, he failed to survive the 108-hour ordeal.