Bangalore: In an effort to prevent children from accidentally falling into abandoned borewells, a Bangalore-based civil engineer has developed an equipment that will seal open borewells.
In the light of increasing number of deaths due to children falling into open borewells, H Rajasimha, a resident of Manyatha Tech Park, has came out with the ‘spider-cap’. He claims that the metal equipment will act as a shield and effectively prevent such accidents. The structure will last for a minimum of 30 years, he added.
“In places like North Karnataka, if a borewell does not yield water, farmers who are in debt request the drilling agency to remove the MS casing pipe and sell the same. When this casing pipe is removed, the top widens from three feet to a larger circumference. This is when it poses a threat,” Rajasimha explained.
The patented spider-cap is priced at just over Rs 200. “This is a cost-effective method to cap borewells as farmers are already in a bad financial condition and it is impractical to expect him to shell out money,” the civil engineer said.
The six-legged spider-cap has a steel plated base with a thickness of 2mm and a six-inch inner diameter. It has nine-inch long sleeves to facilitate opening when thrust into soil.
How does it work?
The spider-cap has to be placed at a depth of three feet below the opening of a borewell that has enlarged after the casing pipe has been removed. It then has to be hammered so that it’s legs are forced to penetrate into the soil.
“The process of fitting the spider-cap does not take more than five minutes time,” Rajasimha said, adding that it however requires a great deal of effort to remove the same once in place. Presently, the gadget is manufactured on a demand and supply basis.
