New Delhi: Two-year-old child Fatehvir Singh of Sangrur, Punjab, remains stuck in a 150-feet-deep borewell for fifth consecutive day after he fell into it, as frantic rescue operation are being undertaken to pull out the toddler. Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh said that he was constantly monitoring the operations, in a tweet posted several days after the accident was first reported.

Fatehvir, who is the only child of his parents, fell into the unused borewell in a field on Thursday evening when he was playing near his house in Bhagwanpura village.

Incidentally, Fatehvir’s birthday also falls today (Monday) and his relatives wait with bated breaths for the rescue of their toddler.

How the accident took place: The child had accidently stepped on the borewell, which was covered with a cloth, while he was playing near his house in Bhagwanpura, officials said, adding his mother had tried to rescue him, but failed.

The rescue operation:

Despite rescuers being close to reaching the child on Sunday, he could not be retrieved so far as the rescue operation was confronted with some technical problems.

No food or water could be provided to the child after he fell into the borewell, officials said, adding oxygen was being supplied to him.

A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) assisted by police, civil authorities, villagers and volunteers, were carrying out the rescue operation amid scorching heat.

Some volunteers were also extending help in this regard, officials said.

A parallel borewell has been dug by installing reinforced cement concrete (RCC) pipes of 36 inches in diameter to rescue Fatehvir.

Rescuers have planned to reach an appropriate depth and then dig horizontally for about two to three feet to bring out the toddler from the other borewell where he is stuck.

Earlier, a NDRF team had tried to pull out the child with the help of rope but in vain.

Public Outrage:

A large number of people from several parts of the state have assembled around the site and have been praying for the safety of child.

Some of villagers also criticised the district administration, blaming it for alleged delay in bringing out Fatehvir from abandoned borewell. Sensing anger of villagers, the  grandfather of Fatehvir urged people to be patient.

Police have erected barricades around the site to prevent people from coming to the rescue site. Heavy police force has been deployed to maintain law and order.

Constantly monitoring rescue operation: Punjab CM

Several days after the incident, Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh tweeted about the incident: “constantly monitoring the rescue operations by @NDRFHQ, local administration & outside experts, which has reached the required depth & are locating Fatehveer. @VijayIndrSingla & Sangrur DC are overseeing the rescue ops. We stand with his family & pray for his well being”.

“Have directed all DCs to ensure that no such open borewell exists in any of the districts & have asked them to submit a report within 24 hours. You can call on our helpline number 0172-2740397 if you have information about any such open borewells in your area,” Captain said.

Punjab PWD minister Vijay Inder Singla said NDRF, civil authorities, villagers and volunteers have been involved in rescue operations day and night.

Our target is only to retrieve the child safely. All are working hard to bring him out, said Singla who has been camping here.

Akali leader Parminder Singh Dhindsa who visited the site alleged that NDRF lacked required equipment to take out the child from the borewell.

What I feel is that NDRF does not have required equipment. Five days have passed and family is losing patience. We have so many modern techniques like laser technology which could help in dealing with such an emergency situation, said Dhindsa.

Similar incidents:

The incident has again brought to fore the dangers posed by uncovered borewells, which have turned into virtual death traps for children.

In March, an 18-month-old boy was rescued from a borewell in Haryana's Hisar district, two days after he had fallen into it.

In 2006, a massive operation was launched to rescue a five-year-old child, Prince, who had fallen into a borewell in a village in Kurukshetra. He was pulled out safely nearly 48 hours later.