The priest, who went to clean the silt in the well located at Shivganj Shiv Mandir in Mufassil police station area of Munger, Bihar, got stuck inside due to lack of oxygen. Within minutes, a crowd of villagers gathered on the spot. Help was sought from the administration and dial 112 was called. Even after this the relief team did not come. Then with the tireless efforts of the villagers and the courage of some youth, the priest trapped in the well was pulled out. After this the Munger police team reached with the relief team. Meanwhile, about an hour had passed. The treatment of the priest is going on in the ICU of Munger Sadar Hospital. The priest’s life was saved, but this whole incident exposed the system of providing relief from the administrative level in any emergency.
Priests descended into the well to remove silt
Nakul Chandra Goswami alias Lal Baba, a 60-year-old priest of the Shivganj Budhanath Mahadev Temple, entered the well with a ladder at around 9:30 am on Thursday morning. But due to lack of oxygen, he got stuck in the bottom. Although there was less water in the well, he could not breathe. On information, a crowd of villagers gathered there. Some youths tried to get him out by bribing inside the well. But some youths came out due to shortness of breath only after going inside. Meanwhile, help was sought from the administration. But no administrative help was received. With the efforts of CISF jawans Gautam Kumar and Doman Mandal, the priest was able to get out after about an hour. Ayush and the village doctor, who were already present there with oxygen cylinders and medicines, administered first aid and admitted him to Sadar Hospital in an ambulance that came with the police administration.
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Open pole of administrative system, air of Doyle 112 came out
The priest’s life was saved, but during this emergency, the system of providing relief from the administrative level was exposed. A villager first called the Mufassil police station at 9:46 am. Call not received. After this, dial 112 was called at 9:49 in the morning and requested for help. After this the SP was called at 9:52 am. At 10:09 am, the Sub-Divisional Officer Sadar was called, after calling several times when he received the call, he said let’s talk to SDRF. When the relief team did not reach till 10:16 am, the said villager again called Dial 112 at 10:16 am and complained. During this, the SP remained with the villager on the phone continuously. During this, the youth risked their lives and took the priest out of the well at 10:40 am. While the priests were trapped in the well, the villagers kept on taking measures to make oxygen in the well. At around 10:49 am, the trainee IPS cum Mufassil police station chief arrived with the police force and the fire brigade.
Doctor and oxygen cylinder not found in APHC
The case of the priest getting trapped inside the well exposed the health system as well. When oxygen cylinders were needed to maintain oxygen in the well, the local youth reached APSC Sheetalpur, located a short distance from the spot. But the oxygen cylinder was not found there. When the doctor was searched to provide emergency service after the priest left, the doctor was also not found present there. Bhavesh Kumar alias Bunty, a resident of Sheetalpur, gave the oxygen cylinder bought for himself during the Corona period. When the priest was taken out of the well, he was given oxygen from the same. Dr. Madan Singh and other rural doctors saved his life by giving first aid.
(youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxWjNJxJQNg)
