A 30-year-old man fell into a 50-feet-deep well surrounded by a two-feet- high wall in front of his home in Bansdroni’s Sonali Park on Friday afternoon, police said.

Samrat Sarkar remained trapped inside the funnel-shaped well till late on Friday despite attempts by divers from the disaster management group of Calcutta police and fire department officers to rescue him.

“The diameter of the well is quite small and its wall is lined with algae, making it difficult to move inside. The cold weather is also making things difficult for us as the divers cannot stay in the water for too long,” a police officer said.

Residents of the area, where single-storey structures with tiled roofs stand cheek by jowl, said the well was dug at least seven years ago.

Many wash their utensils and clothes at the well, said Gopal Roy, the councillor of ward 113.

Ruby, Samrat’s 78-year-old grandmother with whom he lives, said the family has access to a common washroom but Samrat preferred bathing at the well. “Soon after he went to bathe on Friday afternoon, a neighbour came and said he had heard a splash and Samrat was missing,” she said.

A neighbour alerted the police. “We sent a team to the spot and alerted the fire department,” said the officer.

The fire officers tried to drain out water from the well using pumps but soon realised it would take too long.

PWD minister and Tollygunge MLA Aroop Biswas visited the spot on Friday evening.

“The police are trying their best but they are facing difficulty in pulling him out. The cold is also hampering the divers’ efforts,” he said.