TN borewell rescue: After 37 hrs, fresh operations on to drill a parallel well.

Rescue operations have resumed since morning as they hope to reach the boy through a parallel borewell that is being drilled, even as all other efforts to retrieve the boy has not borne any fruit.

The renewed operation is expected to last until 10.30 AM

Nearly 30 hours after rescue operations were on to rescue two-year-old Sujith Wilson, who accidentally fell into an abandoned borewell near Manaparai district in Tiruchy district, authorities suffered a setback as the boy slipped further. The child was initially stuck at a depth of 25 feet but drifted further to over 90 feet on Saturday evening.

Earlier on Saturday, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) joined in the rescue efforts. Officials were earlier optimistic about rescuing the boy on Friday evening, but around 3 am on Saturday, the boy slipped 70 feet deeper due to vibration caused by the earth moving machines. This also caused mud to fall on the boy.

A team of experts from IIT-M which arrived around 4 am continued to monitor the boy with their equipment and the team heard him breathing till 5 am.  “We could hear the child weeping.. for a long time, but now we cannot hear,” an official said. Oxygen is being continuously supplied to the boy. Authorities said they were unable to assess the boy’s condition because of the layers of wet mud around him.  A parallel hole (90 feet deep) would be dug at a distance of 3 metre from the well and two Fire and Rescue personnel would climb down and try to reach Sujith through the tunnel made between the well. “It may take at least four hours from now,” an official said.

Kala Mary, Sujith’s mother, who repeated called out to her son and expressed confidence that he would be rescued, fainted when she heard he had slipped deeper into the well. She was given medical attention by the team stationed nearby. Earlier, Kala Mary was the picture of courage and fortitude when she was seen stitching a cloth bag to help rescue her child. A member of the team suggested that a cloth bag could be used to lift the child, so she immediately sat in front of her sewing machine and started to make the bag herself. A picture of her working at the machine went viral winning praise from across the country. The boy’s father, Britto Arockiaraj, who was earlier heard appealing to officials to rescue his son, remained silent from morning.

Amid public emotions running high and frantic prayers for the early rescue of the two-year-old Sujith from a borewell in Manapparai, the situation turned political on Saturday with TN leaders expressing their concern over the kid’s fate as hopes of retrieving him alive dwindled.

Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, who is stationed in Salem, called up Health Minister C Vijaya Baskar to enquire about the status of the rescue. After discussing the issue with NDRF officials in Hyderabad, Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundarajan called up the Health Minister to ask about the status and pray for his speedy rescue.

Opposition leader MK Stalin in his tweet urged the State machinery to work in tandem to ensure the early rescue. “My heart is heavy for Sujith’s parents and there is a need for a permanent solution,” Stalin tweeted. PMK founder Dr S Ramadoss said that he is shocked over the incident and urged the authorities to speed up rescue work. Congress leader and Tiruchy MP Su Thirunavukarasu said that his party would raise the issue in Parliament demanding a permanent solution to an end such traumatic incidents. There was also exchange of heated arguments on social media and tweets by the cadre of the ruling AIADMK and the DMK debating the inordinate delay in rescue of the kid 

The frantic efforts to rescue two-year-old Sujith Wilson from the borewell received a serious reversal after the loose mud fell on him, pushing him deeper into the well, said Tiruchy Collector S Sivarasu, who had been camping at the spot since Friday.

That was a big setback for the rescue team, as they could hear him breathing till he was at a depth of 70 feet. “But we are still continuing the operation with hope,” the Collector said.

Earlier, the officials were optimistic that the boy could be rescued through a joint operation by Manikandan from Madurai, Daniel from Tiruchy, Sridhar from Coimbatore and Venkatesh from Palladam in Tirupur. Their plan was to lock both the hands of the boy with a strong hook and lift him. But, they could only lock one his hands. It became further complicated at 3 am after Sujith slipped deeper into 70 feet due to the vibration caused by the earth movers.

The attempts to lock the other hand failed thrice, and around 4 am, wet mud fell on him, which spread despair among the rescuers.

The expert team from IIT Madras, who arrived around 4 am on Saturday, could hear the boy breathing till 5 am. But, around 6 am, they failed to sense any movement, but continued with their efforts. Making their efforts more difficult than it already was, wet mud continued to fall on the boy, said officials.

After all their attempts turned futile, the officials sought help from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF).  Around noon on Saturday, a 23-member team from the SDRF arrived at the spot and commenced their operation. All this while, the supply of oxygen continued and the cameras were being used to monitor the condition of the child.

Ministers C Vijaya Baskar and Vellamandi Natarajan are at the spot, overseeing the rescue operations.

As the efforts continued for over 30 hours, the people and leaders of the State prayed for the child. Meanwhile, the district administration ordered that all open bore wells in the district be closed.

Though there are regulations already existing, directing to fill up the abandoned borewells, citing frequent incidents of death of children, it has been remaining only on paper, child rights activists, who recommended the government to frame a policy, have said.

According to data available, as many as 12 incidents took place in Tamil Nadu in the past 10 years and citing the number of unfortunate incidents in 2015, the Tamil Nadu Commission for Protection of Child Rights (TNCPCR), under the chair of Saraswathi Rangaswami, had recommended the then state government to frame a regulation on the abandoned borewells and initiate stringent action against those who failed to follow the norms.

On April 30, 2015, the Department of Municipal Administration and Water Supply released an order and sent it to all the district collectors to ensure strict implementation of the norms. Accordingly, each district administration should ensure the person involved in digging borewells to follow the safety measures: The person should have a valid Certificate of Registration and should ensure not to leave the borewell open after completion and should fill up abandoned wells up to the ground level with clay, sand, boulder or any other suitable materials.

“The circular was sent to all the district administrations and the government asked to ensure monitoring those abandoned wells and initiate actions, but the response was not proper and only a few districts replied with their report and the others remained mute,” claimed advocate T Jayanthi Rani, the then member of the TNCPCR.

Jayanthi Rani charged that there is no proper reporting mechanism in the districts. “We had asked to keep a data after studying the status of borewells in the state but we failed to receive it. A few district administrations replied that they had instructed their BDOs to strictly have a study and initiate steps to close the abandoned borewells. But everything remains on paper,” she said and claimed that there was no physical verification made on the status of borewells in general and abandoned borewells in particular.