Child falls in open manhole, dies

Gutter lid broken 15 days ago was not replaced by officials despite repeated complaints

KARACHI:

Apathy of the Karachi Metropolitan (KMC) claimed another life on Monday when a minor died after falling into an open manhole in the Garden West area.

Residents of the area recovered the body of the child from the open manhole on self-help basis.

The deceased child was buried at a local cemetery after offering funeral prayers on Monday morning.

The family of the deceased minor has demanded the higher authorities to take legal action against those responsible.

They said that two-and-a-half-year-old boy Hamza went missing playing in the lane outside their house on Sir Aga Khan Street in Garden West on Monday night.

The family members started searching for the child and half-an-hour later they found the child's bat near the open manhole in the street. The family members searched for the child in the manhole and after recovered his body from the manhole rushed to Dr Ruth KM Pfau Civil Hospital where the doctors pronounced him dead.

The deceased child was a resident of Azeem Plaza and had come to his grandfather's house. A large number of area residents attended the funeral prayers for the child after which he was buried in a local cemetery.

Aziz Bhai, the grandfather of the deceased child, while talking to the media, said that he had gone to the shrine on Sunday where food was being served in a meanwhile the child fell down the manhole and died. He added that the cover of the manhole had been missing for the past 15 days.

He further said that a building was under construction in the street. The dumper trucks kept passing through the street all day and one of the dumpers had passed over the gutter due to which the cover was broken. After breaking of the manhole cover, he had contacted the relevant builder and executive engineer (XEN) of Karachi Water and Sewerage Board, Nadeem. However, both of them refused to take any responsibility for fixing of the manhole.

He said that if he did not get justice, he would approach the police to file a case against the builder and the XEN of the KWSB. The uncles of the deceased minor and the area residents have also demanded the higher authorities to take legal action against whoever is responsible for it by taking notice of the incident.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 21^st, 2021.