Riyadh: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has covered 2450 abandoned wells throughout the Kingdom after the death of child Rayan Aourram inside one of the wells in Morocco.
The Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture on Monday took to Twitter and wrote, “To ensure the safety of everyone and reduce groundwater pollution, the ministry was able to fill in and fortify 2450 abandoned wells.”
The ministry added that the filling and fortification of these wells was in the first stage, and it will continue to work to fill in the rest of the exposed wells in the Kingdom.
The filling of these wells aims to preserve the safety of lives and property and reduce the pollution of the aquifers.
There is a committee of the relevant authorities in each region that surveys the abandoned wells and determines the procedures and controls that guarantee the safety of road pedestrians and hikers.
The ministry gave a helpline number that citizens and residents can use to report any such locations and for emergencies.
MEWA said such information would be helpful to protect people. “Contribute to reporting the exposed and abandoned wells by calling 939 or via the link,” MEWA tweeted.
The second phase of the project aims to fortify and fill in more than 5,000 abandoned water wells.
On Monday, February 8, thousands of people attended a funeral in Morocco of Rayan, who died after being stuck for 5 days in a well in his village.
Rayan had fallen since February 1, into an abandoned well, more than 30 meters deep, in the village of Igran in northern Morocco.
Morocco’s authorities carried out a strenuous rescue operation over 5 continuous days before his death was announced late on Saturday, February 5.
One of the Twitter users posted video clips of wells covered with grass to highlight that those passing by may not notice them.
