PANAJI
The Goa Human Rights Commission (GHRC) has dismissed an application that alleged human rights violations related to the filling up of a contaminated and decomposed well without fencing, which resulted in fatalities of two human lives and animals.
In March 2021, Advocate Aires Rodrigues complained about the illegal filling of a public well in Ribandar while emphasising the importance of preserving the human rights of the residents who relied on the well for water.
During the inquiry initiated by the Commission, concerned authorities revealed the well’s decade-old existence, contamination, and lack of protection. Local witnesses, whose statements were recorded by the Old Goa police, highlighted dangers to street animals and pedestrians due to the absence of fencing. The Water Resources Department, another respondent in the matter, also confirmed the well’s abandonment and incidents of accidental deaths.
The Commission of Acting Chairperson Desmond D’Costa and Member Pramod Kamat concluded that the uncovered well posed risks to pedestrians and was not in use due to contamination.
“… the well was adjacent to the pathway and the well was uncovered, it was posing danger to the pedestrians, and the well was not utilised by the villagers due to contamination. Nothing has come on record as to who had filled the abandoned well, but the filling has gone a long way in saving human and animal lives that were under threats,” it noted.
Although the well’s fillers remained unknown, the Commission deemed it a life-saving measure. Accordingly, the application was disposed of as the Commission found no human rights violation.
