PESHAWAR, Feb 20: The Peshawar High Court on Tuesday disposed of a writ petition about uncovered drains and manholes in the provincial capital.

A sub-divisional officer of the Town I administration informed a bench comprising Justice Tallat Qayyum Qureshi and Justice Ijaz Afzal that most of the drains had been covered. He stated that the district government had earmarked Rs1.5 million for covering open manholes and drains.

The bench disposed of the plea with the observation that in case the petitioner found any open drain or manhole he could file a contempt of court petition.

The petition had been filed by an advocate of the Supreme Court, Essa Khan, who stated that innocent people got killed by drowning in open manholes. Mr Khan had stated that recently two minor girls, Ayesha and Fakhria Gul, got drowned in open drains in the provincial capital.

The bench observed that the parents of the two girls could register an FIR against the district administration.

Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Tariq Pervez Khan had last year taken suo motu notice of the drowning of six-year-old Fakhria in an open drain on July 29.

The chief justice had summoned the district nazim and other officials and directed them to cover all the open manholes and drains within a fortnight. Subsequently, they were given more time for the task.

Later on, the petitioner filed the petition stating that despite the directives issued by the chief justice the respondents had failed to cover the manholes.

Mr Khan argued that it was the prime responsibility of the district and town administrations to take care of the open drains and manholes as these had become a nuisance and continuous threat to human life. He added that open drains could still be found in different areas of the city.