NEW DELHI: ‘What if she was collector madam’s daughter,’ exclaimed the mother of three-year-old who’s stuck in a borewell in Rajasthan for the past six days as the state machinery has failed to rescue the toddler so far.
“It’s been six days… My daughter is hungry and thirsty. What if the girl was collector madam’s child? Would she let her be there for so long? Please get my daughter out as soon as possible,” Dholi Devi pleaded as the hope for the toddler’s survival wanes with every passing minute.
District collector Kalpana Agarwal said that efforts were underway to reach Chetna through an L-shaped tunnel, after rain interrupted the rescue operations. The team’s progress is being monitored via cameras, and the necessary equipment requested by the rescuers is being sent to them, she said.
“An attempt is being made to reach Chetna through an L-shaped tunnel by digging a parallel pit near the borewell. Two NDRF jawans who have descended into the pit are doing manual drilling. We are watching them on camera. The equipment they are demanding from below are being sent to them,” Agarwal told reporters.
Iron ring, rope, parallel pit and NDRF: Rescue operations still on for 110 hours
The state machinery has employed every possible technique to rescue the girl from the borewell but to no avail so far.
Rescuers initially attempted to pull the girl from the borewell using an iron ring attached to a rope, but these efforts were unsuccessful.
After two days of failed attempts, a piling machine was brought in on Wednesday to dig a parallel pit. The rescue operation was briefly halted on Friday due to rain, but by Saturday, a two-member NDRF team entered the pit to begin digging a tunnel.
“All possible efforts are being made (to rescue the girl). NDRF and SDRF teams are working continuously. Unfortunately, rain interrupted the rescue operation on Friday,” said local SHO Sarund Mohammad Imran.
This comes only two weeks after a five-year-old boy fell into a borewell in Dausa district, prompting a rescue operation that lasted over 55 hours. The boy lost his life before he could be rescued.