Pits of Doom

It is indeed a very sad thing that apart from hunger, disease and natural disasters, there is another factor that kills children.... The scourge of the Open Bore wells.. ( eerie background music ) !!! Well.. a rather stupid reason for sure, but it does happen. Probably not in any other part of the world, but definitely in India. And is it too difficult to curb this children killing "menace"..?? Doesn't seem so. Definitely not difficult as fighting poverty or polio. Then why does it happen again and again and no one seems to care.

Sonu, a 2 year old boy, was almost buried alive in a 150 ft deep bore well in Agra, is just one of the victims in a long list of similar incidents. The 4 day rescue operation by the Army, only resulted in the recovery of his lifeless body. Well, after such a long time, no wonder he didn't make it through..! Imagining myself in his place is both scary and discomforting. And it wasn't the first time, but will it be the last...??

Well, the media was there covering every moment of it. Maybe some politician or official would have come to get their pictures taken with a "sympathetic" and "grief stricken" expression on their face. The army was doing its "best". But whats the use. Now the state will announce a compensation to the family or name the bore well aftersonu, or other such cheap gimmick. And just in case Sonu was rescued alive, the state would have sponsored his education, given him a bicycle or something like that and everyone would be very happy. After all its such occasions that give the politicians to show their "consideration" for the people.

But why can't people be more careful with the holes they dig. How difficult is it? I have seen even dogs fill in the holes that they dig. Anyway, apart from the those who dig these wells, its even the parents who are responsible, who leave their kids lying about here and there. Maybe they had their reasons, but its only they who will feel the grief for a very long time, while the rest will forget about it the next morning. So ultimately its the people, especially those with kids less than a foot wide (along any direction), who must be vigilant towards such dangers.

Or I suppose we need to set up a new department namely the - Rapid Borewell Rescue Squad - equipped with the latest technology to save young children from numerous menacing pits that dot the country. If we can't close the pits, lets at least get good at rescuing those who fall in them..!