Tragedy Strikes as Two Farmers Fall to Their Deaths in Deep Tunnel

Two farmers who had fallen into a 275-feet deep tunnel of the Nira-Bhima Stabilisation Project in Akole village, Pune district, were found dead on Wednesday. The bodies of Ratilal Balbhim Narute (56) and Anil Bapurao Narute (32) were recovered by rescue teams late in the night. The farmers, both residents of Siddheshwar Wasti, Kazad, had entered the tunnel in desperate search of water to save their crops.

According to irrigation officials, the farmers had been given permission to draw water from the tunnel in May due to their wells running dry. However, permission was not granted after that. Despite the lack of permission, the farmers continued to draw water using a motor. The tunnel, which is nearly 275-feet deep, was previously filled with water but its levels had significantly decreased. Officials had put up a railing around the shaft to prevent people from entering, but the farmers ignored it.

Ratilal and Anil entered the tunnel to push a submersible pump into the water, as the decreased water levels required manual intervention for the pump to function. However, tragedy struck when the crane carrying them crashed, and the water was only knee-deep at the time. A resident of the village revealed that the rope the farmers were using broke after they had descended around fifty feet.

This incident highlights the desperate situation faced by farmers in the area due to poor rainfall and the scarcity of water. Many families have laid pipelines to draw water from the tunnel to compensate for their dry wells. Unfortunately, this is not the first such tragedy to occur in the area. In November 2017, nine workers lost their lives in a similar accident at a nearby shaft constructed for the same project.

Baramati MP Supriya Sule visited the village to offer her condolences and assured the relatives that assistance would be provided if the farmers were eligible for any government schemes. However, the legality of their actions would have to be verified by the irrigation agency.

The Nira-Bhima stabilisation project aims to interlink river basins and supply water to drought-prone districts in the Marathwada region. Despite the project’s objectives, the incident serves as a reminder that more needs to be done to ensure the safety and well-being of farmers in the region.