KARACHI: A child died after he fell in an uncovered gutter in Memon Goth on Independence Day, police said on Tuesday.

In a video that went viral on social media, local residents were seen making desperate attempts to revive three-year-old Noman Abro after pulling him out from the manhole. The boy, clad in green and white t-shirt and shorts bearing imprints of Pakistani flag, was unconscious. The video showed frenzied residents shouting and making frantic attempts at resuscitation by slapping his chest and back.

He was rushed to a hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead.

Memon Goth SHO Akram Arain said that the boy was playing in the street and celebrating the country’s independence with other children of the impoverished neighbourhood when he fell in the manhole.

Area residents told journalists that they had drawn attention of the authorities concerned to the dangers of the open manhole but they remained unmoved.

The area SHO said that the family had not approached the police for initiating any legal proceeding into the incident.

Deputy Mayor of Karachi Salman Abdullah Murad on Tuesday visited the area and offered condolences to the family of the victim.

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan also condemned the incident and called it ‘criminal negligence’ of the local administration.

In a strong reaction, the Jamaat-i-Islami held the PPP-led local government responsible for the tragic incident.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2023