E-Paper
2-year-old boy falls into borewell in MP's Ujjain, rescue operation underway
Disaster response team is supplying oxygen into the borewell, and a camera has been lowered to monitor the child and aid rescue efforts
A two-and-a-half-year-old boy fell into an open borewell in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain district on Thursday evening, triggering a large-scale rescue operation.
The incident occurred around 8 pm on April 9 in Jhalaria village under Badnagar tehsil, according to news agency PTI. Badnagar is 75 kms away from Ujjain. The child, Bhagirath, had come with his family from Rajasthan’s Pali district a few days ago. His family, who are shepherds, were grazing sheep in the area when the incident took place.
Local police, led by Badnagar SHO Ashok Patidar, reached the spot soon after receiving information. Teams from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have also been deployed with rescue equipment. A rescue operation using half a dozen Pocklain and JCB machines has been launched, with the SDRF team digging a parallel pit alongside the borewell.
Ujjain collector Roshan Singh and SP Pradeep Sharma are at the site as administrative and police teams continue efforts to safely rescue the child, who is believed to be trapped at a depth of around 70 feet, according to a Bhaskar English report.
Also Read | Ujjain is where Equator, Tropic of Cancer meet, says Pradhan; bats for Mahakal Standard Time
Oxygen is being supplied into the borewell, and a camera has been lowered to monitor the child and aid rescue efforts. Officials are attempting to establish contact with him, while villagers are assisting in the operation, according to PTI report.
How did he boy fall into the borewell?
SP Sharma told ANI that the borewell's lid had a stone placed over it, which a sheep knocked off. The child then opened the lid and fell in while peering into it.
Bhagirath is the youngest of three sons of Praveen Devasi, a shepherd from Pali district in Rajasthan, who had come to the Malwa region with his group for grazing sheep. Bhagirath's father is currently in Pali, while his two elder brothers, Hitesh (8) and Kuldeep (6), are studying there.
In a separate incident, on April 4, a 54-year-old woman was killed and five of her family members, including a child, were injured after their car hit a divider and plunged into a 40-foot-deep ditch on the Guna bypass road on Saturday, police said. The family was returning from Ujjain after a pilgrimege. The family met with the accident at around 7 am, according to Cantonment police station in-charge Anoop Bhargava, says a ANI report.
Anita Agarwal died on the spot, while the injured were rushed to Guna District Hospital, where they are undergoing treatment, Bhargava added.
In another incident, a three-storey building collapsed on April 7 evening near the Gebi Hanuman Temple on Dhaba Road, an official said. Speaking to ANI, Santosh Tagore, Deputy Commissioner, Ujjain Municipal Corporation, told ANI there was no loss of life reported in the incident.
