Madhya Pradesh Well Where 3 Died Caved In Twice Earlier, Claims Villager

The wall of a well collapsed in Madhya Pradesh’s Vidisha district on Thursday leading to the death of at least three people, with around 15 people still missing. The incident took place when people had gathered around the well to rescue a 13-year-old who fell in it. Now, a woman who lives close to the well said that in the past too the slab of the well has collapsed twice.

Anita, who was an eyewitness to the tragic incident, said several complaints were made last month to the sarpanch of Lalpathar village when a similar incident took place. Earlier this month, some people clicked pictures of the poor condition of the well’s wall and showed them to the village head. Yet, no action was taken.

Anita alleged that had action been taken on time, such a mishap could have been prevented.

Thursday’s incident took place around 8 pm at Ganj Basoda village, which is situated around 100 km from state capital Bhopal. After the teenager fell into the well, villagers rushed to the spot to rescue him. Many stood on the slab that covered the well which suddenly caved in and they fell inside the well.

As soon as the state government received the information regarding this incident, personnel of the State Disaster Rescue Force (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were rushed to the site. Since then, 19 people have been rescued, most of whom have sustained minor injuries. At least 15 others are still feared trapped inside the well, said a police officer.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the administration acted swiftly for the rescue operations. Vishwas Sarang, minister in-charge of Vidisha, has been monitoring the rescue operations since last night.

https://twitter.com/ChouhanShivraj/status/1415936044608806913

The CM announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the families of the deceased. Rs 50,000 will be provided by the government for the treatment of the injured.

Meanwhile, former MLA of Gang Basoda Nishank Jain has also levelled serious allegations against the administration. He claimed that it took them time to wake up to the gravity of the situation. He said if the rescue operation would have started immediately many lives could have been saved.

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