Negligence" Two-year-old girl dies in manhole fall

BAHAWALPUR:

A two-year-old died on Tuesday after falling into a manhole in Quaid-i-Azam Colony.

Residents of the area protested against the district government for not covering manholes.

Police said the child was playing in the street when she fell into the manhole. Some children who were playing with her rushed to her house.

Her father, Mohsin Shafiq, said for a few minutes, he could hear the child scream. He said he tried to pull the girl out himelf, but failed.

Later, some neighbours helped him pull the girl out, who, he said, had fallen unconscious by the time she was taken out.

She was pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital. Following the incident, the family of the girl and some neighbours protested against district administration. Shafiq said that the authorities had been informed about gutters without covers two months ago, but no one came to cover them. The protesters demanded that the district coordination officer take strict action against those responsible before more lives were lost. 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 29^th, 2013.