Boy dies in borewell after 22-hour rescue operation:8 failed attempts raise questions over ‘makeshift’ operation despite heavy manpower

In Jhalariya village near Badnagar in Ujjain, 2-year-old innocent Bhagirath got trapped in a 200-feet deep borewell for about 22 hours. More than 8 attempts have been made so far, but he could not be brought out. Teams of SDRF and NDRF along with the Collector and SP have been stationed at the spot since Thursday night. When these very teams that inspire confidence in emergency situations appear to fail, the questions become deeper – where exactly is the lapse? Why did the operation continue to rely on ‘jugaad’ (makeshift arrangements) in the absence of modern technology? Why hasn’t the child been safely brought out yet despite the heavy deployment? Many such questions and their answers in this report Question-1: What are the methods to rescue children from borewells? Answer: Two methods are most commonly used.
First – Rescue Rod in Borewell: This has a hook attached at the front, which is lowered down into the borewell. The hook is caught in the child’s clothes and an attempt is made to pull them up. There are different methods for this. Sometimes pulling straight up, and sometimes inserting a rod from the side and opening it down below, which becomes like a seat. The child rests on it and is brought out. Second – Parallel Pit Technique: A pit is dug parallel to the borewell. The excavation is done up to about one foot below the depth where the child is located. After this, drilling is done from the side to reach the child and they are safely brought out. Challenge – The biggest challenge is time. Delay can prove fatal for the child. If there is water in the borewell and the child reaches that level, the danger increases manifold. In such rescue operations, along with technical challenges, ‘jugaad techniques’ (makeshift methods) also sometimes make the problem more serious. Question- 2: Was the correct technique adopted to rescue the child? Answer: Not initially. At 9 PM, Ujjain and Indore SDRF started the operation with rescue rods and underwater cameras, but their capacity was only up to 50-55 feet. At that time the child was at 35 feet, but due to unsuccessful attempts, he slipped down to 70 feet. When the equipment failed, plastic joint pipes and a private camera were ordered. Both the SDRF camera quality and pipes proved inadequate. The makeshift arrangements arrived on time, but reaching the child with them and safely bringing him out proved to be extremely challenging. Question- 3: Were there no better equipment available to rescue the child? Answer: There were no better tools to pull the child out. The camera showed that he had a bangle on his hand, so a hooked rod was inserted to try to catch it in the bangle. Either the hook didn’t catch or it caught and came loose. Sometimes the hook’s shape was changed, sometimes multiple hooks were added to one rod, but still there was no success. Later, better equipment was used. Question- 4: What was done for stability while inserting the rod into the borewell? Answer: The lack of stability was clearly visible while inserting the rod into the borewell. Ujjain and Indore SDRF started the rescue, but neither leveled the ground nor installed a stand to keep the rod stable. In the 8-inch wide borewell, the rod became unstable as it went down to 70 feet. Jawans and villagers kept holding it at the opening. Later, Harda SDRF brought a three-legged iron stand. Before installing it, the ground was leveled and the rod was kept stable with a locking system, which provided better control. Question-5: When the rescue team failed once, what was the backup plan? Answer: The biggest shortcoming in the initial rescue operation was the lack of a backup plan. SDRF started work at 4:30 PM and NDRF at 5 PM, but for the first eight hours, work continued on just one strategy – trying to hook the child and pull him out. When this method failed repeatedly, the lack of a backup plan became clearly evident. On the contrary, SDRF Harda and NDRF Bhopal later adopted multi-layer planning. First, the iron ring was tied with a rope in such a way that when pulled, it would lock onto the child’s hand. After successfully securing one hand, to reduce risk, the other hand was also secured in the same manner. Along with this, a seat-like rod was kept ready as a backup option, which opens up when it goes below the child. However, after bringing him up to 40-45 feet, the child got stuck due to increased weight, but he was stabilized there and efforts continued to bring him out using the ring technique. Question-6: Is the SDRF team trained for such cases? Answer: The preparedness of the local SDRF in dealing with such a situation appeared weak. They had equipment, but it was not effective for rescue at depth. The personnel were working hard, but there was a visible lack of clear strategy and understanding of resources. The question arises whether special training for borewell rescue has been provided. NDRF Bhopal and Harda SDRF arrived with better preparation, but the delay proved costly. Harda’s officer also admitted that if they had arrived on time, the outcome could have been better. Question- 7: Why did equipment have to be procured from private individuals? Answer: SDRF Ujjain did not have a camera with adequate depth. The camera they had lacked stability and the underwater view appeared blurry. In such a situation, private expert Vijaysingh Sankhla had to be called, who uses better cameras with experience in removing faulty motors from borewells. Initially, plastic pipes were used, which proved unstable at depth. Later, Harda SDRF arrived with thin iron pipes and stands, which strengthened the operation. Question- 8: What are the responsible officers saying? Answer: SDRF Ujjain Commandant Santosh Kumar Jat said that the team is actively engaged in the rescue. The arrival of NDRF and Harda SDRF has accelerated the work. Due to lack of visibility in the camera and the rescue rod’s limited depth of up to 50 feet, the strategy has been changed. According to Collector Roshan Kumar Singh, the child is at 40-45 feet and work is continuing on other options along with parallel digging. SP Pradeep Sharma said that NDRF and SDRF are jointly conducting a combined operation and there is hope to safely rescue the child soon.