KARACHI: The poor civic infrastructure and negligence of authorities, including K-Electric, continued to claim the lives of people in Karachi as a boy drowned in an open underground water tank in a public park in North Nazimabad and another youngster died from electrocution in the same area on Friday.

Police said five-year-old Rehan came to a park in Block J of North Nazimabad after sunset and was playing with his cousins when he went missing after one hour. The boy’s family initially tried to find the youngster on their own.

“However, after failing to find the boy they finally contacted the police,” said Inspector Khalid Nadim Baig, the SHO of the Shahrah-i-Noor Jehan police station. “Our team rushed to the park and started a search while we also deputed another team in the neighbouring residential block. During the search, one of our constables found the underground water tank of the park uncovered and called for other colleagues and the boy’s family.”

Both tragedies occur in the North Nazimabad area

He said the body was finally found in the water tank. There was so much darkness at the site that the family and even the police could not spot it immediately, he said.

“The boy with his parents came to visit his grandparents on vacation from Saudi Arabia a few weeks ago and [was] scheduled to return next week. The family is staying in Shadman Town. The police have assured every possible support to the family. The officials concerned and staff of the park would be nominated in the FIR, which would be lodged on the complaint of the family. They are in a state of shock and grief right now,” said the SHO.

Electrocution

In North Nazimabad’s Block H, eight-year-old Rizwan died of electrocution.

The boy, police said, was playing with his friends when he unknowingly touched snapped wires of the K-Electric.

Residents said that the power utility was asked to fix the wires after they were broken during some civic construction work.

“The area people said that the K-Electric people did not turn up and most of them were not aware of the threat the wires were posing. The boy, [who] belonged to a very poor labourer’s family was playing with friends near Masjid Al Falah when he touched the wire and died instantly,” said an official at the Hyderi police station.

In a statement, K-Electric said it was “grieved at the unfortunate incident”.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2019