• Tank was built as neighbourhood had no proper system for sewage disposal
• Eight children have drowned in drains in the locality so far, residents say

KARACHI: Five children fell into a septic tank in Memon Goth on Wednesday. Three of the children were rescued while two of them drowned, police said on Thursday.

Memon Goth police SHO Sarfraza Jatoi said someone in the area has established a ‘Sabeel’ near the sewage tank.

The children went there and as they were standing there, the cover of the tank suddenly broke. All five children fell into the drain.

The residents said no union council or district administration helped them to launch the rescue operation. The residents with help of ropes entered the septic tank and retrieved the children.

The children were taken to a nearby hospital where two of them identified as Hasnain Khoso, 4, and Taha Lashari, 11, were pronounced dead on arrival.

The officer said three children — Pervez, Saqib and Abbas — were discharged from hospital after treatment.

The SHO said that it was a slum area in ‘Khosa Mohalla’ of Gulistan-i-Mustafa of Memon Goth where the residents had dug up 15-20 feet deep septic tank. The officer believed since it was a slum, there was no proper sewerage system in the locality.

He said it was an ‘accident’, no one had approached the police for legal proceedings.

Videos of the incident gone viral on social media showed anger and grief of the heirs of the victims.

The tragic death of children triggered anger among the residents who blamed the local government and district administration for not installing a proper drainage system in the locality.

They said that so far, eight children had drowned after falling into drains in Memon Goth and Shah Latif Town in Malir in recent past.

Jamaat Islami Karachi chief Munam Zafar visited Memon Goth and met with the heirs of the victims. Talking to journalist, the JI leader said that this was the constituency of Deputy Mayor of Karachi Salman Murad.

On Wednesday, Deputy Mayor Salman Murad visited the area and met with the families of the victims.

He said it was not a manhole or a gutter, but privately built tank for sewage.

He claimed that the tank was not covered. He said one private person had built the tank.

The deputy mayor said he had directed the police to take legal action against the ‘responsible’ whose alleged negligence had caused the death of two children.

Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2024