Bihar: Blame Game Begins Between Villagers and Administration After Girl’s Death in Borewell in Gaya District

GAYA – The girl who fell into the borewell in Gaya district’s Masuandha village in Mohanpur block, cried and screamed for three hours, yet no rescue team from the district headquarters, located 35 kilometers away from the village, or the block headquarters, situated 25 kilometers away, reached the scene.

Two significant flaws were identified in the rescue operation for the innocent child. Firstly, the rescue team failed to reach the Masaundha village on time, and secondly, the villagers took matters into their own hands.

As the rescue team failed to arrive, the villagers initiated their own efforts. The incident took place around 1 pm on Sunday when two-and-half year old Akansha Yadav fell into the open borewell.

Utilizing a JCB, the villagers dug a pit near the borewell, cutting through the soil with their hands to reach the girl. Unfortunately, by the time they reached her, two precious hours had passed.

Arvind Yadav, father of Akanksha, reported that his daughter cried and screamed in the borewell for about three hours, but due to a lack of experts, they couldn’t save her. He mentioned that the villagers had to take charge of the rescue work themselves, while officers merely observed. However, BDO Vikas Kumar countered, stating that the girl had already passed away before the rescue team’s arrival.

Arvind Yadav and other villagers criticized the district administration for not taking any concrete initiatives. There was no police administration or experts present to rescue Akanksha from the borewell. Villagers claimed that the police arrived one and a half hours after the incident occurred.

After the police finally reached, local administration officials also arrived, prompting the villagers to initiate the rescue work themselves. When the incident happened, the police team was in the nearby Vaidyanathpur village, just 20 minutes away from the Masaundha village. Despite the proximity, the police arrived late.

However, DM Thiagarajan issued a press release, deeming the incident tragic and placing blame on the villagers. He claimed that after being informed about the incident, he spoke to the Additional Chief Secretary of Disaster Management, and the NDRF team was dispatched to the spot from Patna. Unfortunately, the girl had already passed away before the team’s arrival.

On Monday afternoon, the local administration handed over a cheque of Rs 20,000 to the girl’s father, Arvind Yadav.