After making hectic efforts for 46 hours to rescue six-year-old P Karthik from an abandoned borewell into which he had fallen on Friday, the authorities could only retrieve his dead body on Sunday.
A pall of gloom descended on Botlaguduru village in Pamur mandal in the south coastal district of Prakasam as villagers performed the last rites of the boy on Sunday afternoon after his body was fished out of the borewell.
The district collector announced ex-gratia of Rs 20,000 and another Rs 50,000 under Apathbandhu scheme, besides a pucca house and a two-acre plot to his family.
Karthik slipped and fell into the 200-feet deep uncovered borewell near his house in the village on Friday noon.
Due to rains in the area, the abandoned borewell was filled with water and while playing nearby, Karthik kicked an empty drum kept on the well opening and accidentally fell into the well and got stuck at a depth of 30 feet.
On hearing his screams, labourers working nearby rushed to the spot and dropped a rope into the well hoping that the boy would catch it.
Subsequently, they called in the revenue, police and medical teams.
The medical team started releasing oxygen into the borewell shaft to prevent suffocation.
Revenue authorities deployed two earthmovers to drill a pit parallel to the borewell to reach the boy and rescue him.
But their drilling operations were hampered by continuous rain and huge rocks found in the pit.
The authorities also summoned four mining engineers who advised that the smaller rocks be blasted with gelatine sticks.
They were flustered after hitting upon bigger rocks further down.
The villagers waited near the well braving the heavy rain and praying to God to save the little boy.
They performed pujas at temples in the village and organized bhajans throughout Friday and Saturday nights.
However, on Sunday, the rescue workers could only retrieve the dead body of Karthik from the well.
Men, women and children wept inconsolably even as post-mortem on the body was conducted on the spot by a team of doctors.
The body was laid to rest after the villagers dug up a grave.
Kandukur Revenue Divisional Officer and Deputy Superintendent of Police, as well as the local mandal revenue officer, supervised the rescue operations.
District Collector K Devanand announced ex-gratia and other benefits for the deceased boy's family.
Karthik's mother Sujatha was in a state of shock ever since she heard about the mishap and rushed to the village.
She was deserted by her husband Ravindra four years ago.
She is eking out a livelihood by working as a farm labourer in Nellore.
She had left the boy in the custody of her parents in her village.
The district collector, who had visited the village on Saturday, assured stringent action against Rural Water Supply officials who were responsible for the tragedy.
They got the borewell drilled to a depth of 200 feet near the overhead reservoir in the village to augment water supply but abandoned it when they did not strike water in the well.
The contractor removed the pipes as well as the casing and covered the gaping hole with an empty drum.