HOSHIARPUR: A six-year-old boy who had fallen in a borewell in village Khiala Balanda near Garhdiwala in district Hoshiarpur, was pulled out after over seven hours but he had died by then.
While teams of NDRF, Army and Military Engineering Service(MES) had reached the spot and started their rescue mission, but it was a man Gurinder Singh from district Sangrur, who pulled him out with his own innovative technique using pipes and ropes as other rescuers provided whatever support he required.
File photo of 6-year-old Ritik Roshan who died after falling into borewell
The deceased boy Ritik Roshan, whose parents Rajendra and Bimla work as farm labourers and originally hail from district Muradabad of UP, fell in the borewell in the fields of the village after a dog chased him. Bimla said that he was playing when a dog chased him and he scaled the borewell pipe which was covered at the top with a bag to save himself from the dog. However as he stood on the pipe he slipped down and was spotted by his sister, she said.
"I then immediately informed the village sarpanch and soon the villagers reached here and started efforts to save my child," she said. The pipe of the borewell was around three feet above ground.
The district administration was also alerted by the villagers. Volunteers of Baba Deep Singh Sewa Dal led by Manjot Singh Talwandi from neighbouring village also rushed to the place and they quickly arranged oxygen cylinders and hung one of them down the bore-well. They first hung a camera and monitored it on a laptop in a vehicle nearby. This monitoring by them helped the official machinery and rescuers to make their assessment.
Hoshiarpur deputy commissioner Sandeep Hans, who also rushed to the spot along with other officials and police, said that the footage of the camera reflected that the child was lying unconscious which made the rescue more difficult and they requisitioned services of MES also. He said that the borewell was said to be 85-100 feet deep.
Initially digging near the bore-well was also started with machines. Gurinder Singh, who was participating in CM Bhagwant Mann’s cycle rally against drugs, rushed to the village after getting the news. He pleaded with the officials to give him a chance telling that he had pulled out two-year-old Fatehveer from a 125 feet deep borewell in village Bhagwanpur of district Sangrur though the child had died as it had already taken 110 hours.
"I had asked the administration to give me a chance and had sought 25 minutes to pull out the child but it took around an hour and half. The child was at 85 feet depth. I managed to pull him out after first managing to tie a rope to one of his wrists but he was stuck at 35 feet depth. Then I had to use another rope to tie his second wrist also and then pulled him out. The child was stuck where nine inch pipe ended and seven inch pipe started," said Gurinder, who pulls out submersible machines from borewells and often has to innovate in different situations.
The boy was rushed to Civil Hospital Hoshiarpur. Doctors said that he had died sometime back in the borewell.
Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann had earlier tweeted that he was in touch with the administration as rescue operation was on. Area MLA Jasvir Singh Raja Gill also rushed to the spot in the initial phase of rescue efforts and later minister Bram Parkash Jimpa also remained there throughout the rescue operation.
Minister Jimpa said that government machinery made quick and best efforts but unluckily the child could not be saved. He announced a grant of Rs two lakh for deceased's family.
