- Contractor and sub-engineer booked in accident.
- Rescue delayed; child trapped for two hours.
- CM conveys condolences to grieving family.
A seven-year-old child tragically died after falling into an open manhole in Lodhran’s Tehsil Kahror Pacca, prompting Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif to remove the district commissioner and order strict action.
“He went to the market with his father to buy breakfast, and while returning, he fell into the manhole,” said the boy’s uncle, describing the incident which took place in the Dhanot area. “He remained trapped for two hours before his body was recovered.”
The Additional Deputy Commissioner, Liaqat Ali Gillani, confirmed that a case has been registered against the contractor and the highway’s sub-engineer responsible for maintaining the area. “The matter is under investigation, and strict action will be taken,” he added.
Punjab CM Maryam expressed deep sorrow over the child’s death. “No innocent life should be lost due to official negligence. My condolences go to the bereaved family,” she said, emphasising accountability.
The funeral prayers of the deceased child were offered hours after his demise.
The tragedy comes just days after a similar incident in Karachi, where three-year-old Ibrahim, the only child of his parents, died after falling into an uncovered manhole that had allegedly been left without a lid for several days.
People pooled money to bring in machinery themselves in a desperate bid to rescue the child. However, he was found 14 hours later — on Monday morning — with eyewitnesses saying state machinery arrived only after hours of delay.
Following mounting criticism, the Sindh authorities swung into action and suspended multiple officials, including Imran Ahmed Rajput, senior director of municipal services at the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, and Rashid Fayyaz, assistant executive engineer at the Town Municipal Corporation, Gulshan-e-Iqbal.
