SIRSI (UTTARA KANNADA): A two-year-old girl, who fell into an open well near her house, was rescued by her neighbour, businessman and philanthropist at Kasturba Nagar in Sirsi on Wednesday. The video of the rescue act has gone viral on social media sites.
The two-year-old Bhuvi was playing near her house when she fell into the well, but no one noticed it. Her elder sister and grandmother Jayamma were at home, but were busy, while her parents were away at a hospital.
The grandmother wanted to feed Bhuvi when she realised that the little girl was missing. She called out her name, but there was no response. Panicking, Jayamma sought the help of her neighbours and started searching for her. Just then, someone in the group heard a faint cry of the girl.
Didn’t think twice: Bizman on daring rescue of girl
And it was coming from the well that is 50 feet deep. They peered inside, but could not see the bottom of the well, from where the little girl’s cry for help was coming.
That was when good samaritan Payyu Chowti, who is their neighbour, came out to rescue the child. “I had planned to go to Bengaluru and was about to go to have a bath when I heard women screaming. I went near the well and checked.
I could see only the girl’s clothes, but not her. Somebody came with a rope. Without a second thought, I tied one end to a post, and held on to the other end and got into the well. The girl’s clothes were stuck to a pipe and she was not harmed,” he said. He held onto the girl, while people who had gathered around pulled him and the child to safety.
The video of the rescue has gone viral. Jayamma said, “We thought we had lost the girl. Thanks to Payyu Chowti, she was saved.” Saying that he never had an experience of getting into a well, Chowti said, “It was the question of that little girl’s life. I weigh 84 kg, but my only thought was to save the toddler. If I had hesitated and had something untoward happened to her, I would have never forgiven myself,” he said. Though the child fell deep into the well, she had not sustained any injuries.
A businessman, Chowti also heads Sarika Seva Samithi, an organisation that works for the welfare of the poor and downtrodden.