Conflicting accounts surface in sewerage well deaths probe

Body fails to fix responsibility; construction firm, municipal committee face scrutiny

LAHORE:

Two conflicting inquiry reports have emerged regarding the tragic Dijkot incident on June 13, where five employees died while repairing sewerage well.

Sources reveal that a three-member committee, constituted by the deputy commissioner to investigate the incident, blamed negligence on the part of the construction firm, the municipal committee of Dijkot and the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) for not adhering to safety protocols and using proper safety equipment.

In contrast, a probe report sent to the Chief Engineer of PHED Central Punjab by the Executive Engineer of the Public Health Department attributed the incident to a power short-circuit, absolving the department of any responsibility for neglecting safety measures.

PHED Executive Engineer Muhammad Riaz stated that his department had initiated the "Provision of Sewerage System at Dijkot" project in 2019, costing Rs438 million, which is still ongoing.

He mentioned that several letters were sent to the municipal committee of Dijkot to take over the scheme, but no action was taken, leaving the contractor to manage it.

When asked about consulting the Faisalabad Electricity Supply Company (FESCO) to determine if the incident was caused by a short circuit, Riaz denied sending any such letter to FESCO.

He explained that four victim families would be compensated from the security amount deposited by the contractor, but the fifth victim, Muhammad Arslan, a daily-wage plumber with the municipal committee, would not receive compensation. He also mentioned that PHED Lahore is authorised to conduct a regular inquiry to determine responsibility.

The incident, which occurred near Chak 263-RB, involved four employees of the municipal committee Dijkot and one employee of the construction firm falling into a 30-foot deep under-construction sewerage well.

The deceased were identified as Shafiq (40), an employee of the contractor, and municipal committee workers Burhan Shakoor Baildar (38), Arslan Yousaf (36), and Asghar Contractor (40). Rescue 1122 employee Muhammad Nasir was injured and is recovering at Allied Hospital.

An anonymous PHED officer criticised the departmental report, questioning its validity by highlighting that Shafiq, the contractor's employee, had entered and exited the dry well before the incident. This raised doubts about the short-circuit theory. The officer voiced hope that higher PHED authorities would reject the report.

Sayyid Naved Iqbal, Deputy Director of Development and a member of the inquiry committee from the DC office, acknowledged some negligence by the MC Dijkot, PHED, and the construction company for not adopting safety measures. However, he also blamed the deceased employees for repeatedly entering the well despite others not returning.