The phrase "death from above" has often been used in writings, movies, plays etc and widely referred to as the devastating power of air force in armed combats. Applying the same logic, one can coin the phrase ‘death from below’ for the open manholes in the city streets and roads, which have devoured a large number of people over the years.
These uncovered manholes have been there for long and caused regular deaths and injuries to people falling into them. Every time a tragedy occurs, there are condemnations, protests and disciplinary actions against the officials responsible for covering them. But soon afterwards the issue loses significance, the same negligent attitude prevails and there are no lessons learnt. The efforts to stem the causes leading to such accidents for good are not taken with sincerity.
Only last month, a two-and-half-year-old boy and a seven-year-old girl were killed after they fell into the gaping manholes in separate incidents in Shahdara.
As always, the media took up the matter with full vigour and the provincial government sprang into action. There were suspensions, arrests and registrations of cases against 12 Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) officials held responsible for the negligence which had led to these deaths. The main allegation against them was why they had failed to cover manholes whose lids were broken or stolen.
The routine exercise of government representatives visiting the houses of the victims and announcing compensations for the aggrieved family was repeated in a synchronised manner.
The question here is, will these actions have a long-term effect and check such instances from happening? Or, will the state of affairs remain the same? Also, whether something else is being done to find a solution to this perennial problem? What are the root causes and how they can be tackled?
Looking at the details of the action against these officials, one finds the case has been registered under Section 319 of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) which prescribes punishment for ‘qatl-i-khata’ (homicide by mistake). It states: "Whoever commits qatl-i-khata shall be liable to diyat: Provided that, where qatl-i-khata is committed by a rash or negligent act, other than rash or negligent driving, the offender may, in addition to diyat, also be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years as ta’zir."
It appears the government wants to punish these officials and set an example for others so that they remain extra vigilant in their respective areas.
Hafiz Shahid Advocate, a Lahore-based lawyer, does not agree with the logic and says it is just a knee-jerk reaction. "The government must go for practical solutions instead of punishing officials."
His point is that the same charges of negligence can be levelled against the government which had failed to provide resources to the concerned department. "How can the police investigate these officials when it has failed to arrest thieves of manhole covers?" he asks.
Police sources claim metal lids and cement bars covering the manholes are stolen by drug addicts and small-time thieves and sold to scrap dealers. Metal lids have premium scrap value whereas the cement bars have iron rods inside them to reinforce them.
Babar Ali, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Punjab, says that the cases of thefts (of manholes) are sometimes traced and sometimes they aren’t. But the problem the police face is that the market committees and the traders’ associations start protesting against the raiding teams when they reach the markets to catch hold of the buyers of stolen material. This happens also in the case of stolen mobiles, vehicular parts and so on. Therefore, he suggests, these associations should be taken on board and bound to cooperate with the police. "This way they can get rid of the black sheep."
In this context, Punjab Minister for Housing, Communication & Works and Public Health Engineering, Malik Tanveer Aslam Awan recently called a meeting and sought suggestions from the district government officials, the civic agencies, the parliamentarians etc on how to check the incidents of deaths caused by uncovered manholes.
There were suggestions that the lids should be made traceable by implanting electronic chips in them or iron grills be installed that can catch falling children midway. Another suggestion was to increase the weight of the lids so that it becomes doubly hard for the thieves to lift them manually.
Kashif Nawab, a community worker in Yohanabad area of the city, has his reservations against the Wasa officials. He says he has often informed them about uncovered manholes but they never bothered to make the required arrangements. "The only reply we get is that there are no lids in the stock and that the complainants should wait," he says.
Kashif hopes the registration of criminal cases against Wasa officials in Shahdara will bring about a change in the attitude of the agency employees.
He says it is not right to place all the blame on drug addicts or thieves. "There are a large number of manholes which have their covers intact but they are chipped. Anyone can fall into them. Who will take care of these?"
Dr Ahmed Raza, District Emergency Officer (DEO), Lahore, Rescue 1122, says open manholes are killers as those falling into them may die for various reasons. For example, "one could be killed by inhaling toxic gases or drowning in choked water. One could also die of claustrophobia, trauma, excessive bleeding, head injury in case of a collision and so on."
He says there have been cases where the people fell into the manholes and tried to call out for help but their voice was not audible enough.
Fractures are a common result of these accidents. In the case of silt, once a person is trapped he cannot move.
Zahid Aziz, head of the sub-committee on manhole covers, confirms the agency is contemplating various solutions at the moment and will be in a position to share findings in two weeks’ time.
He says even though technical solutions are also being considered, there is a suggestion that the situation could be altered by reducing the scrap value of manhole covers and bars. The cement bars placed on the manholes, he says, are the preferred target as they easily yield up to 16kg of metal scrap. "Once it is bereft of the metal, it will have no attraction for the thieves."
Yet another suggestion, according to Zahid, is to "identify the volunteers in different wards who can inform the relevant authorities about missing lids in good time."
He also calls for an awareness drive for the masses who allow minors to wander about unguided in the streets.