TIRUCHY: A week after two-year-old Sujith Wilson died inside a defunct borewell, the State government with the help of district administrations has converted 9,940 borewells across Tamil Nadu into groundwater recharging structures, said J Radhakrishnan, Commissioner of Revenue Administration.
Addressing media on the sidelines of an event in Tiruchy on Tuesday, Radhakrishnan said, “We have converted 9,940 defunct borewells into recharging pits, while more than 2,000 borewells on farms have been closed till now. All government departments are working towards closing defunct borewells. We request public to take efforts and close borewells in case they spot any that are open.”
Incidentally, more than 700 borewells have been closed just in Tiruchy district. “This is not a problem confined to borewells. Manholes and roadside wells without boundary walls are also being checked. Apart from closing them, we are also conducting registration drives and meetings with rig owners and borewell machine owners to make sure any future mishap is avoided,” said Radhakrishnan.
He was speaking to reporters at an awareness programme conducted by the Revenue and Disaster Management departments to educate the public about the dos and don’ts in an emergency. In the event which started on Tuesday morning, fire and rescue officials displayed their range of rescue equipment.