Abandoned dry well, who cares? The boy fell to his death
On November 14, it was reported that at 23:00 on November 10, Zhao Zicong, a boy who fell into a well in Zhongmengtou Village, Lixian County, Hebei Province, was found by rescuers from the bottom of the well, but had no vital signs. So far, the rescue operation that has affected many people has ended after 107 hours.
A glance at a dry well, "eating" a fresh life, leaving too many regrets and sorrows, and leaving us to think deeply - how many unmanaged dry wells are there in the countryside? Who should be in charge of the dry wells? How can the tragedy of "eating people" in the dry wells not be repeated?
From November 9th to 10th, the reporter went deep into Shijiazhuang, Baoding, Chengde and other places to investigate issues related to abandoned dry wells.
How many dry wells are left?
A glance at the dry well and a falling well incident, although the rescue was successful, the burden left to Yihezhuang Village in the past two years was still heavy. On the afternoon of November 10, in a corn field south of Yihezhuang Village, Xiaoguanying Township, Gaobeidian City, 72-year-old Tian Hongxuan told reporters about the rescue operation that took place here two years ago.
On the morning of June 9, 2014, 3-year-old boy Xiaohui (a pseudonym) followed his grandfather to work in the field. While playing, Xiaohui accidentally fell into a dry well. This dry well has been abandoned for many years and is less than 30 centimeters in diameter. After more than 9 hours of rescue, the children were finally rescued after digging more than 12 meters of soil around them.
The dry well at that time has now been buried and turned into a crop field. The reporter saw that there are two other wells near the scene of the incident. One of them is an abandoned well with an open mouth because the wellhead is only 10 centimeters in diameter and there is no danger. Another 30 centimeters in diameter is an in-service well, and the wellhead is covered by a large iron plate.
The reporter met Xiaohui, who is now in a kindergarten class. "We should learn a lesson, control the dry wells, and stop'cannibalism 'incidents." Xiaohui's grandfather said that the village had landfilled all the abandoned dry wells that were dangerous and hidden.
But it is rare to see abandoned wells treated like Yihezhuang Village. The reporter saw on the roadside of Chetun Village, a few kilometers away from Yihezhuang Village, that there are still exposed dry wells here. "These useless dry wells are not managed by anyone and become a safety hazard," said a nearby villager.
Abandoned dry wells have been used for a variety of purposes: in farmland, there are abandoned irrigation dry wells; on the construction site, there are abandoned piling dry wells; by the road, there are abandoned line dry wells... The reporter's investigation found that in recent years, with the decline of the groundwater level, a large number of mechanical wells have dried up and been scrapped. Abandoned mechanical wells range in depth from more than ten meters to tens of meters, with a diameter of about 30 cm. They are mostly hidden in weeds and crops, which can easily cause human and animal safety accidents.
It is understood that the dry well where the boy Zhao Zicong fell has been built for more than ten years and has been abandoned for about five years. After the well dried up, there was no backfill, no well cover, and no warning signs were erected, and the well head was always exposed. According to a villager in Zhongmengtaste Village, there are many wells in the village, and the specific number is unknown.
"There are too many dry wells in the countryside, and no department has counted the number." The reporter learned in the investigation that almost every village in Hebei Province has abandoned wells, most of which are landfilled, and most of the dry wells that are not landfilled are in an unmanaged state.
