New Delhi:
How long will our children be victims of sheer callousness? This is a concern shared by our policymakers, who are alarmed at the rising number of children losing their lives after falling into uncovered borewells and tubewells.
Alarmed, Sonia Gandhi has written to the chairperson of the National Commission of Children to ensure that every state follows the Supreme Court directions that every uncovered and abandoned borewell and pit needs to be covered.
In a letter, dated July 13, Mrs Gandhi writes, "I have been informed that the Commission has already taken up the matter with the government of Haryana and concerned secretaries in Government of India in the context of Supreme Court's judgment on this matter. I would like to request you to take up the issue with all the states urging them for immediate compliance of the Supreme Court's guidelines."
Mrs Gandhi's letter has been prompted by a letter from the Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. The Kerala Chief Minister has argued that it should be made mandatory to erect a three-feet wall around all such unused borewells and tubewells. He has also argued that it is time to frame stricter laws and penalties to ensure accountability in the event of any accident.
Forwarding these suggestions, Mrs Gandhi says, "Wide publicity especially in the vernacular press and media, in regard to prescribed safeguards will go a long way in creating a necessary awareness in all quarters."
Borewell deaths had once again started grabbing national headlines when four-year-old Mahi fell into a 70-feet-deep borewell outside her house in Gurgaon. A huge rescue mission that lasted over three days was launched to save her, but she had died within the first few hours.