‘Everyone has to prevent child fatalities due to open manholes’

Sindh Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani on Monday said the government, the relevant civic agencies and the concerned public have to play their due role in preventing fatalities due to children falling into utility holes in Karachi.

Ghani was speaking in the provincial assembly on the death of a child in Shah Faisal Colony due to falling into a utility hole a day earlier. The issue was raised in the House by PA opposition leader Ali Khursheedi.

Ghani said he is deeply saddened by the tragedy of a child losing his life in Shah Faisal Colony due to falling into a manhole. He said the Karachi Water & Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) had placed 32,000 manhole covers in the city during the previous year.

He informed the concerned legislators that there are around 400,000 utility holes in the city. He said every union committee in Karachi has been asked to keep 50 to 100 manhole covers ready for uncovered utility holes in their respective jurisdictions.

He also said these instructions were passed on to the UCs with an increase in their grants by the Sindh government. He conceded that there have been earlier fatalities in the city due to people falling into utility holes.

He also conceded that covering utility holes is not the responsibility of the UCs. He said utility hole covers are either stolen or broken by unscrupulous elements retrieving iron rods from them.

Ghani said people should remain alert and prevent instances of stealing of utility hole covers. He said people should not remain silent about such incidents. Several video clips have emerged on social media showing such incidents, he added. He appealed to the public to take action against the people involved in stealing and smashing utility hole covers.

Child laid to rest

The funeral prayers for five-year-old Adab, who died after falling into an open manhole in Shah Faisal Colony, were offered on Monday.

The prayers were held near his home and attended by family, relatives, and a large number of residents of the area. During the funeral, attendees strongly criticised the government for its negligence in addressing the ongoing issue of uncovered manholes.

They demanded immediate action to secure open manholes and prevent further tragedies, stressing the urgent need for improved infrastructure and accountability. After the prayers, the boy was laid to rest in a local graveyard. In response to the incident, Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab expressed deep sorrow over the boy’s death.

He explained that manhole covers were frequently stolen due to their iron content, exacerbating the problem of exposed manholes. The boy had been travelling with his family from their home near Kala Pul to Shah Faisal Colony to attend an Aqiqah ceremony at a relative's house.

While playing with other children, he fell into the uncovered manhole. Despite swift rescue efforts, his body was recovered after some time, but he had already passed away. This incident marks the first such incident of 2025. In 2024, 19 similar cases were reported across Karachi, resulting in 19 deaths. Despite the repeated occurrences of such accidents, the government has yet to take substantial action to prevent these avoidable fatalities.