PESHAWAR, Aug 22: Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Tariq Pervez Khan on Tuesday gave 15 more days to the district government for covering open manholes and drains in the provincial capital.

The chief justice summoned the Pakistan Telecommunication Company general manager on Wednesday as District Nazim Haji Ghulam Ali claimed that scores of open manholes in the city belonged to the PTCL.

The district nazim, Town No.1 Nazim Shoukat Ali and some union council nazims appeared before the chief justice in his chamber after being summoned by him.

The chief justice had taken suo motu notice on Aug 1 of news reports regarding drowning of a minor girl in an open manhole on the University Road and had ordered the district government to cover all the manholes and drains within a week. He proposed establishment of cells where citizens could lodge complaints regarding open manholes.

An official said Ghulam Ali explained the shortcomings of the district government and said it had covered a majority of the drains but drug addicts used to take away grills of the manholes.

The chief justice suggested that the nazim should try to trace out to whom the grills had been sold. He said the issue could be tacked if some of the dealers could be apprehended. He suggested that concrete lids should be placed on the manholes.

The nazim stated that as the staff had to remove the lids often for cleaning drains, it was difficult to place concrete lids.

He said scores of open manholes belonged to the PTCL.

He requested to be granted more time, saying that work was in progress on all the drains.