Madras HC orders closure of abandoned wells, borewells, quarry pits along Thoothukudi roads

MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday directed the state government to shut all abandoned open wells, unused borewells, and quarry pits along public roads across Thoothukudi district within six weeks and file a compliance report.

The order comes on a plea filed by social activist SMA Pon Gandhimathinathan of the district after officials failed to act on his representation to the state government.

The plea stems from the accident on May 17, 2025, in which five people, including an 18-month-old child, died when a vehicle plunged into an unprotected roadside well on the Meerankulam-Chinthamani road, prompting the activist to approach the court.

Petitioner’s counsel PR Priya Dharshini told the court that, ironically, the accident occurred after the petitioner had submitted a representation to the state government earlier that month. The representation highlighted violations of a Supreme Court order and a July 2023 direction from the Chief Secretary asking all district collectors to identify abandoned open wells, borewells and quarry pits and ensure safety measures in place to prevent fatal accidents.

It also pointed out that the number of such uncovered and unprotected wells and pits had been rising in the district in recent years. Besides human beings, cattle and other animals also risk falling into them, causing avoidable deaths, the counsel noted.

She also pointed out that the Supreme Court issued detailed guidelines in August 2010 to prevent fatal accidents. The guidelines required authorities at the district, block, village and municipal corporation levels to assess the status of borewells and tube wells and fill them up to ground level.

After hearing, the division bench of Justices P Velmurugan and KK Ramakrishnan observed that village administrative officers would have acted had higher officials informed them. The court then directed the authorities to close the wells and pits in the district and file a compliance report within six weeks.