A legal notice has been sent against the Barendra Multipurpose Development Authority and the concerned parties over the death of a two-year-old child Sajid who fell into an abandoned and unprotected tube well in the Barendra region. The notice demands compensation of Tk 5 crore to Sajid's family and necessary measures to close the unprotected tube well.
Supreme Court lawyer Advocate Md. Monirul Islam Mia sent the notice on Sunday (December 14). The legal notice states that hundreds of abandoned and unprotected tube wells in Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj and Naogaon districts are posing a serious risk to the public.
Recently, a child Sajid tragically died after falling into an abandoned tube well in Koelhat Purba Para village of Tanor upazila of Rajshahi, which is clear evidence of the negligence and administrative apathy of the concerned authorities.
The notice has alleged violation of the right to life and personal liberty under Articles 31 and 32 of the Constitution and demanded implementation of several directives within 15 days.
These include - identifying and surveying all abandoned tubewells, sealing/filling or permanently closing them at state expense, legal action against those involved in digging illegal tubewells, formulating Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for safe tubewell management, strict monitoring to prevent unauthorized tubewell construction and departmental action against officials who neglect their duties.
In this regard, it was informed that if the demand is not implemented within the stipulated time, the matter will be filed as a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) with the High Court Division. A report on this incident has been published in the online media Dhaka Post, where the issue of risk to children's lives is highlighted by calling the unprotected tubewells in the Barendra region as 'death wells'.
