Open manholes still plague Peshawar

Open manholes still plague Peshawar

By Akhtar Amin

PESHAWAR: Despite the Peshawar High Court’s strict directives that stern action would be taken against concerned authorities if uncovered manholes were found in the city, open manholes are seen everywhere in Peshawar.
The PHC division bench consisting of justices Talat Qayyum Qureshi and Ijaz Afzal Khan had disposed a writ petition filed against uncovered manholes three months ago, after Peshawar District Nazim Haji Ghulam Ali ensured the court that all open manholes had been covered in the city. A local lawyer, Mohammad Isa Khan, had filed the writ petition after the death of two children due to uncovered manholes in the city.
During the case disposal, the bench itself admitted observing uncovered manholes and broken drains in Khattak Colony, though a city administration officer had said before the court that there was no uncovered manhole in the city. However, the district administration official had given full assurance to the court that they would cover the entire city’s uncovered manholes on the case disposal day. The court also said parents of victims could register an FIR (First Incident Report) against the city administration. The petitioner said open manholes and drains in Peshawar district were too dangerous to ignore and they posed a serious threat to human lives, “but the administration never paid any attention to the matter,” he added.
He said that six-year-old Fakhira Gul died on July 30, 2006 after falling into an open manhole. Her body was recovered the next day near Warsak Road, some three kilometres away from the spot.
He said another four year-old girl, Ayesha, died after falling into an open manhole in the Raiti Bazaar. This led to initiation of a suo moto action by PHC Chief Justice Tariq Pevez Khan under Article 199 of the Constitution on August 1, 2006. He had directed City District Nazim Haji Ghulam Ali to take appropriate measures to cover all open manholes in the district within a week, “otherwise all those responsible would be booked,” he warned. A random survey conducted by Daily Times on Saturday revealed that majority of the city’s manholes were found uncovered on all busy roads of the city, including the military controlled cantonment areas of Peshawar.
During the survey, an open manhole was also found in front of the NWFP Assembly, where hundreds of pedestrians pass by daily.
Crossing the open manhole on GT Road in the jurisdiction of Town-1, Mohammad Ilyas told Daily Times that uncovered manholes were the citizen’s “silent killers” during the rainy season. Recalling the deaths of two innocent girls last year due to open manholes, he said that despite the citizen’s protests and PHC chief justice’s suo motu notice, manholes were still uncovered.
Another citizen, Wazir Zada, pointed out an open manhole near the Army Officers Colony saying that it was uncovered since last year. He said many children had plunged into the open manhole while crossing the road.
“It has become a culture and practice of the government concerned authorities that when a human life is lost they become alert and start work on the site,” he said. He added that it was the government’s responsibility to protect its citizens. Citizens have demanded the PHC chief justice to take action against authorities concerned and ensure covering of all open manholes to avoid mishaps during the monsoon rains.