E-Paper
UPHRC to state govt: Station SDRF/NDRF team in Bundelkhand region to check open borewell mishaps
The UPHRC has also directed UP chief secretary to file a reply within six weeks informing about measures taken to comply with the SC guidelines to check deaths of children after falling into open borewells
The Uttar Pradesh Human Rights Commission (UPHRC) has directed the state government to permanently station a unit of state disaster response force or national disaster response force in Buldelkhand region where digging of borewell is common due to scarcity of water so that response time in case of an emergency could be reduced from 12 to 24 hours in case of a child getting trapped in an abandoned borewell.
The UPHRC has also directed state chief secretary to file a reply within six weeks informing about measures taken to comply with the guidelines of the Supreme Court to check deaths of children after falling into open borewells.
Justice Bala Krishna Narayana, chairperson, UPHRC, passed the order on October 27 on a petition filed by Alok Singh, director of the Sarvebhyo Foundation, Lucknow.
The petition was filed after the December 4, 2020, incident in village Kulpahad, Mahoba district, in which Ghanendra, 4, died after falling into an abandoned borewell.
“The Supreme Court had taken suo-moto cognizance of children dying after getting trapped in open/ abandoned borewells in various states. The top court had issued notices to all states to take immediate steps to prevent such type of incidents,” said Singh.
The Sarvebhyo Foundation has also argued before the commission that the Uttar Pradesh government has failed to implement these guidelines.
“The state government is under an obligation to implement measures recommended by the Supreme Court for preventing fatal accidents of small children as a result of their falling into abandoned borewells and tubewells,” the court had observed.
“It is also ardent duty of the state government to institute inquiries into the deaths of small children due to their falling into uncovered open borewells and tubewells for fixing liability of persons/officers agencies responsible for such incidents and to initiate appropriate proceedings, including criminal prosecution against such persons,” observed the court.
Singh, whose Sarvebhyo Foundation has closed several open borewells in Mahoba region, has also designed an mobile app ‘open borewell child safe’ that is available on Playstore for reporting open borewells.
