123 drowned in Tiruppur water bodies last year

TIRUPPUR: Open wells and a lack of fencing for water bodies have resulted in an increase in drowning deaths in the district. According to data shared by the Fire and Rescue Department (Tiruppur), 104 persons died by drowning in water bodies in 2020. This increased to 109 in 2021, and jumped to 123 in 2022. The majority of victims were retrieved from open wells in farmlands.

District Fire and Rescue services Officer (Tiruppur) Kangeya Bhoopathi said, “Open wells pose a big threat to people. Whenever we rescue a person in urban or town areas, we advise people to either fence or close the well, which is promptly done by owners. But people in the rural segment ignore our advice. We received 687 rescue calls related to water bodies in 2020. This increased to 1308 in 2021 and 2032 in 2022. Almost 80 per cent of these calls are related to rescue from open wells. These numbers are much bigger than the fire rescue calls.”

Not just humans, animals including cats, dogs, deer, and cattle are also victims of open wells. Over 1292 animals were rescued by Fire and Rescue personnel in 2022 alone, which is much higher than in 2020 and 2021, where 356 and 846 animals were rescued.

Commenting on the situation, N Vijaykanth (38), a snake catcher from Avinashi, “Animals are sensitive to surroundings and easily escape from danger. But, even then animals become victims and open wells are a major source of problem. No animal will fall into a well that is fenced. They usually fall into open wells that are surrounded by bushes, which make detection or visible of the water body. I have rescued more than two dozen cats and dogs from wells in Avinashi and none of them was fenced. Besides, I along with my friends rescued four deer, which fell inside an open well in Kasigoundan Pudur near Avinashi in search of food. Even after advising the land owner about the fencing, he hasn’t constructed anything.”

Speaking to TNIE, an official from the district administration said, “We do not have a record of the exact number of open wells in the district. We will ask revenue officials to check with panchayat secretaries to check the numbers. Besides, we will organize a taluk-level meeting with the panchayat president and secretaries to fence all open wells.”