1,418 borewells found abandoned after Fatehveer’s death, HC told

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 3

In a statement, the Punjab Chief Secretary today told the Punjab and Haryana High Court that no less than 1,418 abandoned borewells were found to be open across the state after Fatehveer’s fatal fall.

In an affidavit submitted before the HC, Punjab Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh submitted that the Deputy Commissioners carried out survey of their areas and closed 1,418 abandoned borewells found to be open across the state. A table enclosed along with the petition added that 624 borewells, earlier open and now closed, were in Sangrur alone, followed by 129 in Mohali, 116 in Mansa and 78 in Amritsar.

The affidavit came weeks after the High Court asked the Chief Secretary to file an affidavit on person responsible for the unfortunate incident which led to Fatehveer’s death in a borewell. The Chief Secretary was also asked to specify steps being taken by the state to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in future.

The Bench of Justice Anupinder Singh Grewal and Justice Harnaresh Singh Gill had also asked him to specify the measures adopted by the state to implement Supreme Court judgment in the “Measures for prevention of fatal accidents of small children’s” case.

Taking up the matter, the Bench of Chief Justice Krishna Murari and Justice Arun Palli also fixed July 31 as the next date of hearing in the case.