‘I’ve lost my family, please save others’

Devastated man appeals to authorities to cover drain after losing wife, son

KARACHI:

A video of Danish, a motorcyclist who lost his wife and infant son after falling into the nullah of Shadman Town, has emerged and he earnestly appealed to local bodies officials to cover the broken drain in the middle of the road.

The incident occurred on Sunday after Danish's motorbike fell into the drain with his wife and children onboard. The incident occurred on Sunday after Danish's motorbike fell into the drain with his wife and children onboard. It was raining, the nullah was overflowing t the extent that it was impossible to difentitate between the drain and the road.

"My home has been destroyed; I have lost my wife and son, but someone else's family can be saved from destruction," he says in a video. Residents of the area are also furious over the which occurred on the road between Qalandria Chowk and Anda Mor in Sector 14-A and 14-B of Shadman Town.

They severely criticised officials of local bodies and said that despite the prior information of the Meteorological Department, the process of cleaning drains continued even as the rains fell. Many believed this demonstrated the slow pace of work with regards to the cleaning of drains.

If a barrier or concrete blocks had been placed to mark the spot where the motorcycle-riding family fell into the drain, perhaps a small house would have been saved from destruction. The mother and infant son drowned and lost their lives, while the husband and his three-year-old daughter Zoya were saved after a tough struggle by locals present at the spot.

The body of the mother was fished out, but the body of the two-and-a-half-month-old baby, Azlan, has not been found yet.

Eyewitnesses told rescue officials, who arrived at the scene, that the drain and road were leveled as rainwater clogged the nullah. In addition, the spot where the incident occurred lay in complete darkness.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 19^th, 2022.