Gandhinagar: The Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) today announced that it has recently transferred its indigenously developed Borewell Rescue System to the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), 06 Battalion, Jarod, Vadodara.

Each year, children in India tragically fall into open borewells, posing complex challenges for rescuers. The project aimed to develop an improved borewell rescue mechanism by replacing the manual handling of heavy and unstable rescue rods with a controllable winch-hoist system, supported by structural and operational improvements.

“I appreciate and congratulate the team for building the system independently, and Prof. Madhu for the mentorship provided. The soldiers’ manual effort and fatigue have been minimized, while rescue efficiency has improved with a controllable system. Such solutions can inspire our student community and demonstrate how institutes can collaborate to solve real problems of national importance,” said Prof. Rajat Moona, Director, IITGN.

“Earlier, our soldiers used to handle rescue rods manually, which caused fatigue and risk. The winch-and-hoist will now take the load of the rod assembly and the victim, reducing manual effort. I appreciate the IITGN staff members and Prof. Madhu for this development,” said Surender Singh, NDRF Commandant.

However, it is noteworthy that earlier too, such systems have been designed to aid in borewell rescue operations for children. Yet, there have reportedly been negligible outcomes, and many children have lost their lives before being rescued after falling into borewells. It remains to be seen how this new system developed by IITGN will perform in a real-life crisis, God forbid if it occurs. DeshGujarat