Within hours after the State bade a tearful farewell to Sujith Wilson, the two-year-old boy in Tiruchirappalli district who lost his life after falling into an abandoned borewell near his house on Friday, two more toddlers died in different parts of Tamil Nadu during the last 24 hours in similar circumstances.
Rudran, a three-year-old boy, was drowned in a pit dug up for constructing a rain water harvesting (RWH) structure in a village in Virudhunagar on Wednesday while Pavalavalli, a three-year-old girl, died on late Tuesday when she fell into a septic tank in an under-construction house in Cuddalore district.
In both the cases, the parents/guardians of the children were away visiting relatives in connection with Diwali holidays. They had left the children under the care of guardians whose carelessness resulted in the tragedies,” said a police official.
The Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board (TWAD) had issued an order on Tuesday asking its officials to convert the unused and abandoned borewells into Rain Water Harvesting Structures with immediate effect.
Villages in Tamil Nadu, facing severe shortage of water are dependent on bore wells to meet the drinking water requirements. “Over the years the depth of bore wells have gone down and it is not uncommon to find bore wells with a depth of 200 feet and more,” said Kattumannarkoil Kannan, a farmer-turned-author in Cuddalore district.
Meanwhile, a war of words is on between the Opposition DMK and the ruling AIADMK over the death of Sujith. While DMK chief M K Stalin accused the State and Cetral governments for their indifference and callous attitude, Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami said the administration had deployed optimal efforts in the rescue operation. The chief minister handed over a cheque of Rs 10 lakh to the kin of Sujith. He also offered the family another Rs 10 lakh from the AIADMK fund. Not to be left behind, the DMK too has offered the family a solatium of Rs 10 lakh from the party coffers.
The North East Monsoon is already on in Tamil Nadu and the heavy downpours are expected to last till December. Instances like drowning of children reach a peak during the season and one is certain to hear more such incidents, said RV Giri, president, Consortium of Indian Farmers Association (CIFA). A controversy is on in Tamil Nadu about the responsibility of the closure of the abandoned wells. As per the Panchayat Raj Act, the onus on closure of such wells are with the owners while there are people and organisations demanding that the local body officials should be made responsible.
