BAGALKOT: After seven futile days, the operation to rescue six-year-old Thimmanna, trapped in an open borewell in Sulikeri near Bagalkot, came to a halt on Saturday.
Despite round-the-clock efforts, the district administration and several rescue teams could not recover the boy who fell down the borewell on his father Hanamant Hatti’s sugarcane field last Sunday. District and IT/BT Minister S R Patil on Saturday announced that the rescue operation will be stopped and the field levelled immediately. Hanamant had on Thursday submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner to stop the operation, to prevent further damage to the field, saying he was almost certain that his son was no more.
The decision to pull the plug on the operation was taken on the basis of the opinions of members of rescue teams, experts, elected representatives and villagers. The minister said the field, which is now “big” and “pond like”, would be filled with mud for the boy’s father to restart cultivation. The police cases filed against those involved, including Hanamant, will be withdrawn, Patil said.
The minister also promised that the government has been taking steps to prevent such cases and guidelines on the same have already been issued. He said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has also announced a compensation of `5 lakh for crop loss for the boy’s family.
National Disaster Response Force chief Jitesh, Fire Brigade head Ravindra and Helpline rescue team leader Basavaraj Hiremath opined that digging the land further would not only be difficult but also risky as there is a possibility of a landslide.
Hanamant, who was present at the meeting, said his field was his son now.