The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) has sent its investigative report regarding the incident where a child fell into a manhole near NIPA Chowrangi in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi, to the Secretary of the Local Government Department.
Senior Director of Municipal Services Imran Rajput stated that the Municipal Services Department initiated the search operation for the child upon the order of the Mayor of Karachi.
The report’s text states that the child’s body was recovered from the Gulshan Town link drain. The investigation concluded that the cause of the tragic accident was the BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) construction.
The BRT excavation severely damaged the entire drainage system of the canal.
CCTV captures three-year-old Ibrahim falling into open manhole
An attempt was made to temporarily cover the manholes using two-foot-wide covers.
The tragedy occurred because one manhole, related to the Red Line project, was left uncovered.
The report stressed that these specific methods and substandard covers were never used by the KMC.
The BRT did not inform the KMC before commencing the work, and after excavating, they neglected the situation.
The report concludes that the child fell into the manhole due to the joint cause of the private store management and the BRT.
It was also noted that all excavated areas have since been filled under the supervision of officers.
Background
It is to be noted that around 10 PM on Sunday night, the three-year-old child, Ibrahim, was exiting the departmental store near NIPA Chowrangi with his parents.
The child stepped onto a manhole that was temporarily covered with cardboard due to the missing lid.
The cardboard could not bear the child’s weight, causing Ibrahim to fall into the manhole and disappear. The child’s body was found 15 hours later, about one kilometer away in a drain.
