‘Civic agency’s negligence’: Minor girl drowns in choked drain

Family and neighbours stage protest against the area representatives; MPA promises to look into matter.

RAWALPINDI:

A two-year-old girl drowned in a drain in Ratta Amral on Wednesday, police and witnesses said.

Naida went missing from outside her house in the evening. Her body was found from a drain near her house in Waheed Colony. Police said they found no wound or torture marks on the child’s body.

“The girl’s house is very near to the drain. She might have fallen [in the drain] while playing. [However,] we are investigating all possible angles,” Ratta Amral Subinspector Munawar Khan said.

Her family and neighbours protested against MNA Malik Shakeel Awan and MPA Shehryar Riaz for not taking action against the authorities for not cleaning the drain. They believe she was swept away by a current of water in the overflowing drain.



They said that drains in many residential localities including Waheed Colony have been choked with garbage. The garbage settles to their bottoms and decreases their depth, resulting in frequent overflows.

They alleged that the sanitary workers and civic bodies do not clean the drains, and both Awan and Riaz have taken no action over the matter.

MPA Riaz visited the District Headquarters Hospital and consoled Naida’s father. He promised to personally look into the drain issue.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 18^th, 2013.