60 abandoned, open borewells located across Punjab; 45 have been sealed so far

In less than 24 hours after Punjab Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh ordered the closure of all open and abandoned borewells across the state, over 60 were identified and 45 such borewells have already been sealed. The process to locate more similar borewells in all districts of the state is underway at a large scale.

To prevent the recurrence of tragic incidents such as in the case of two-year-old boy Fatehveer Singh who died in Sunam, Capt. Amarinder Singh had directed all the Deputy Commissioners to submit reports on the status of open and abandoned borewells in their respective districts besides asking for their immediate closure.

The reports indicate that of the 45 borewells sealed by Wednesday, 26 were located in Fatehgarh Sahib district, 8 were closed in Mansa district, 3 each in Patiala and Kapurthala, 2 in Gurdaspur district and 1 each in Ropar and Hoshiarpur districts. In Ropar, where 19 borewells were reported lying unattended, the process to close them has started. Incidentally, Ferozepur, Faridkot, Muktsar  and Taran Taran districts have been found free of any open borewells.

Taking serious note of the Sunam incident in which Fatehveer could not survive his prolonged ordeal inside a borewell, the Chief Minister had, on Tuesday, also asked the Disaster Management Group headed by the Chief Secretary to finalise a set of SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) to check and prevent such incidents in the future.

Meanwhile, tightening noose around the defaulters, and in an attempt not to lose any more human lives to open and abandoned borewells, the government has issued a letter to all the Deputy Commissioners (DCs) under Tandrust Punjab Mission to rope in various field departments to undertake immediate measures to fill and plug the abandoned borewells in Punjab.

KS Pannu, Mission Director Tandrust Punjab Mission, informed that the abandoned borewells are a cause of concern, for the safety of human beings especially that of children, and a source of contamination of groundwater as well.

To ensure that all the abandoned borewells are properly filled and plugged, the DCs have been asked to initiate a publicity campaign making farmers aware about the dangers of unplugged borewells and directing them to ensure that there is no unplugged/abandoned borewell in the fields owned by them.

Announcements on the village public address system should be made to this effect. The Department of Agriculture should hold meetings at the field level to identify such borewells and motivate the farmers to plug them.

Pannu said that since almost all the farmers who have abandoned such borewells have obtained the power connection for alternative borewells, therefore, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) officials should ensure that all the abandoned borewells should be plugged.

Besides, the Gram Panchayats should pass a resolution after properly verifying from all the members of Gram Panchayats to the effect that there is no abandoned borewell in the revenue estate (Mauja) of the village. The Panchayat Secretary of the village may also contact all the Nambardars of the village to verify about existence of abandoned borewells in the village.

Further, the Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) and the concerned Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) should jointly tour the area and convey to the public the seriousness of the issue and ensure filling up and plugging off all abandoned borewells in their jurisdiction.

The Executive Officer/ Commissioner of Municipal Bodies should interact with all the Councilors to make them aware about the problem and suggesting them to further interact with people in their respective areas to know about the existence of any abandoned borewell and also to take necessary action to plug it.

It has also been directed that Punjab Water Resources and Development Corporation (Tubewell Corporation) and Punjab Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Department, which are running various groundwater based drinking water supply and irrigation schemes should ensure that abandoned borewells, if any, belonging to them are plugged within a period of one month.

Going on a strict mode, it has been proposed under Tandrust Punjab Mission that criminal action should be taken against any person who does not plug such borewells within a period of one month. Any mishap in such borewells should attract penalty against the owner of the land under various provisions of Indian Penal Code by lodging FIR against such person.

After a period of one month, Mission Tandrust Punjab shall give an advertisement asking the general public to give information about abandoned borewells still not filled and plugged. The person giving such information will be given a reward of ₹5000 after verification of information.