DADU: All 20 victims of a tragic van accident, which took place on Thursday evening, were laid to rest on Friday with the Phulpoto community blaming government negligence for the tragedy.

The van was carrying devotees to the shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan Sharif from Khairpur Mirs when it fell into a cut which was made at Indus Highway near Jamshoro Toll Plaza to allow the floodwater to flow through it months ago.

The bodies of the victims, who belonged to the Phulpoto tribe, were brought to village Dawood Jo Goth on Friday morning.

The victims were buried in their ancestral graveyard of Lal Gunjio near Dawood Jo Goth in Union Council Mehar Ali, Khairpur.

Maulana Zubair Phulpoto, president of the Phulpoto Alliance, announced that soyem would be held at the National Highway near Shah Hussain if Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah did not offer an apology over what he termed criminal negligence of the provincial government and did not pay a visit to the grieving family.

The president of the Phulpoto Alliance held the Sindh government and the Jamshoro district administration responsible for the tragedy. He said three months had lapsed since the flood hit the area, but the breach made for the floodwaters had not been repaired as yet.

“It’s criminal negligence on the part of the government,” he alleged.

Meanwhile, the grieving families demanded that a case be registered against the chief minister and the officials of the Jamshoro administration.

The incident left the residents of Dawood Jo Goth and adjacent villages in a state of shock.

The victims were identified as Ms Sanna, Ms Benazir, Ms Baibul, Noman, Ms Mahmooda, Ms Heer, Ghulam Shabir, Ms Dilshad, Ms Sudhira, Ms Kalsoom, Usman, Mahboob, Hameeda Khatoon, Ms Laila, Ms Shahida, Shahzado, Ms Sonh, Shahnawaz, Ms Madiha, and Ms Allah Ditti.

Talking to Dawn, Imtiaz Phulpoto, a cousin of one of the deceased and eyewitness to the accident, appealed to chief justices of the Supreme Court and Sindh High Court to take notice of the tragedy and issue orders for the registration of FIR against the officials of the district administration and the National Highway Authority.

Meanwhile, Minister for Communications Maulana Asad Mahmood, taking notice of the Sehwan accident, said that directives had been issued to suspend six officials over inadequate safety measures on the highway.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2022