THE lidless manholes in Karachi lay bare the failure of the city administration to provide even the bare necessities of daily living to residents. This week, a regular shopping trip left another family scarred for life. A manhole near Nipa in Gulshan-i-Iqbal swallowed their toddler, Ibrahim; his body was found 15 hours after the fatal incident. This death and the delay in carrying out a search operation — the city rescue helpline claimed that civic bodies and the town administration did not provide rescuers with information related to the drain’s entry and exit flow — sparked widespread fury. Yet, despite protests, sit-ins, and the clamour for accountability in both mainstream and social media, an apology from the mayoral office was late in coming. However, the customary suspension of officials and promises of an impartial inquiry and structural changes to prevent further tragedies did follow.

Sewer fall accidents are all too common in the metropolis. In 2023, some 68 people were reportedly lost to manholes. This year, as per reports, gaping drains and sewers consumed 24 residents of which five were children. The ring of impunity that the Sindh government is used to has led to its inability to read the mood or recognise suffering. Despite a budget of millions for the maintenance of sewer safety, negligence on the part of the KWSC and other institutions has reportedly left 50pc of Karachi’s low-income areas with uncovered death holes. The need is, much like it is for other infrastructural requirements, a desperate one: high quality covers that cannot be removed by drug addicts or damaged by heavy vehicles must seal every manhole. Funds must also be spent on installing the internationally used manhole scanning systems that capture and map structural conditions. Unlike other major cities, the streets of Karachi have become death traps. A city that pulses with life is at the same time struggling to survive.

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2025