A desperate 22-hour battle to save a toddler trapped in a borewell in Madhya Pradesh’s Badnagar area ended in devastation as three-year-old Bhagirath Dewasi was pronounced dead. The child from Rajasthan’s Pali district fell into the 70-foot deep pit in Jhalariya village, sparking one of the most intense rescue missions in recent memory.
Praveen Dewasi’s family, pastoral nomads who had camped nearby for sheep grazing, faced unimaginable loss. Thursday’s mishap occurred when a sheep nudged aside the borewell’s cover stone. Curious Bhagirath, trailing behind, leaned over the edge and plummeted inside just as his mother glanced over from her chores—too far to intervene.
Swift action followed: NDRF from Bhopal joined SDRF units from multiple districts, launching a multi-pronged operation. Cameras confirmed the boy’s position at 70 feet, with oxygen piped in for initial stabilization. Parallel digging with excavators hit snags at 40 feet due to hard rock, prompting deployment of specialized hammer machinery.
Ujjain police chief Pradeep Sharma updated from the site, vowing exhaustive efforts including rope and harness techniques. Over a dozen machines churned through the night, but the rocky subsurface proved a formidable barrier. By Friday, the grim reality set in—Bhagirath had not survived the ordeal.
As forensic teams probe the precise cause, the community mourns deeply. Rural borewell accidents remain a scourge, fueled by abandoned or poorly sealed structures in agricultural zones. This incident reignites demands for nationwide enforcement of borewell safety laws, regular audits, and community awareness to shield innocent children from such fates.
