56 | GLIMPSE | JULY 2019What is needed to avert these
tragedies?
A simple plastic or steel cap costing
not more than Rs500-700 is all that is
needed to seal these open borewells.
Also vigilant state machinery and
concerned officials/departments to
ensure the implementation of the same
is all that is required to prevent such
sad endings to such precious lives. But
there is another angle to this whole story
wherein farmers deliberately keep the
mouths of their borewells open because
there is a superstition wherein they
consider water which comes out of a
borewell to be ‘Khwaja Pir’ (water god).
They wish to keep the mouths of the
borewells open to keep the water god
appeased. But sadly, it is the innocent
children who have to pay the price for
this kind of blind faith and superstitions
by losing their lives.
Is illegal extraction of groundwater
responsible?
Analysts believe that illegal extraction
of ground water by builders, landlords
and other self-styled mafia groups are
responsible for digging borewells and
later leaving them unsealed after the
water dries up or they fail to locate water
there. The water is ferried in tankers
and sold to people in water-scarce areas,
used for massive constructions or used
for their own use & sold to the tenets by
the landlords.
Water is increasingly becoming
scarce in many states of India including
Punjab and Haryana which is promoting
a black market in the same.
How can we stop more borewell
deaths?
Immediate steps should be taken to
stop deaths caused by open, disused
borewells in India. First and foremost
is that the state governments should
get all the open borewells capped
with an immediate effect. It should be
made mandatory for every rig owner
to register with the concerned water
authority. Illegal borewells should be
immediately closed and owners of
the same or the people found guilty
of digging illegal borewells should be
penalized heavily and a criminal case
should be registered against them to
prevent exploitation of the ground water.
The Supreme Court guidelines
regarding borewells passed in 2010
According to the Supreme Court
guidelines every land owner should
inform the concerned authorities in
written 15 days prior to the construction
of any borewell/tubewell.Besides
which the registration of the drilling
agencies is mandatory with the district
administration. A Mandatory erection of
a signboard at the construction site with
the name of the owner and the drilling
agency is mandatory. The Supreme
Court has also directed the owner of the
land where a bore is being digged to
put up barbed wire fencing or any other
suitable barrier to prevent anyone from
coming near the site.
The court also directs bore owners
to cap the borewells well after the
completion of the work. The ground also
needs to be restored back to normal as it
was before the construction of the bore.
It’s time we wake up and start taking
necessary precautions to ensure that
no more precious lives are lost becauseSERIOUS STORYWhat is the duty of the district
administration?- The district collector has to
make sure that all the Supreme
Court guidelines regarding bore/
tubewells are followed to the mark
through state/ central government
agencies. - District/village/block wise status of
the number of bores/wells in use,
abandoned, closed and drilled has
to be kept. - If a borewell/tubewell is
abandoned at any stage a
certificate from the concerned
department must be obtained by
the agencies to ensure that the
borewell is properly filled up to the
ground level and sealed. - Random inspections have to be
made and the information about all
the concerned data is to be kept by
the district collector or the block
development office of the state.G
of the apathetic attitude of the people
or the authorities concerned in dealing
with bores which can turn fatal if not
handled with care.