Focus Now on Closure of All Open Borewells, Says Tamil Nadu Govt Official after Sujith Wilson's Death

Chennai: The "real solution" in preventing recurrence of another Sujit Wilson-like incident lies in the closure of all open borewells and right now this was the focus area, a senior state government official said on Wednesday.

Wilson, who fell into a disused borewell at Manapparai near Tiruchirappally on October 25, was pulled out dead by rescuers early on Tuesday, after a futile 80-hour struggle to save him.

Commissioner of Revenue Administration J Radhakrishnan said the rescue operations were done "professionally" but that the result was "negative."

Addressing a press meet here, he said all efforts possible were taken in good coordination with various agencies to save the two-year old boy.

The rescue efforts were "done professionally, but unfortunately there was a negative result," he said. "The real solution (to prevent recurrence) is all unused borewells should be closed or be converted into rain water harvesting structures. Chief Minister (K Palaniswami) has directed all district collectors (in this connection)," he said.

"Open borewells should be closed...that is our focus area," he said, adding various government departments were on the job.

While the 80-hour long operations failed to rescue the boy alive, the rescuers retrieved his body in lines with the Centre's management of dead guidelines, he said.

Radhakrishnan, who had earlier overseen the rescue operations at the mishap site in Nadukkatupatti, had on Monday said the body of Wilson was in a "highly decomposed" state and "dismembered" before it was pulled out from a depth of around 88 ft.

Due care and respect was shown in retrieval of the body, he added.

Post-operative analysis on the matter will be done, which will lead to "lessons learnt," he said. Further, he described as "rumours", social media information quoted to him that a sum of Rs 11 crore had been spent on the rescue operations.

"Don't believe in such rumours. Money is not a concern in such rescue efforts," he said. Around 600 personnel from NDRF, SDRF, Police, Fire and Rescue Services and others were involved in the rescue efforts and all of them were equally "anguished" at Sujit being pulled out dead, Radhakrishnan said.

Meanwhile, the Manapparai police on Wednesday registered a caseinto the death of the toddler. Police saida case under IPC 174 (suspicious death) has been registered.

The case was registered based on a complaint by the Village Administrative Officer.