When I travel abroad, I often meet emigrants eager to share their memories of Karachi. There are conversations full of nostalgia. They miss the city they left behind. And because Karachi is my home, where I have lived almost all my life, I really enjoy these meetings.
But I did not intend to write about Karachi which lives in the imagination of those who lived long years of their lives here before finding their new home in distant lands. I actually returned this week after a three-week stay in Southern California with our daughter and was ready to share some of my experiences. Karachi, however, has abruptly intervened and I am distracted.
By the way, I was in San Francisco four days before boarding my flight home from Los Angeles, and there was something different about the city that I knew quite well. It really made me think of Karachi and the chaotic scenes we witness on its roads.
Well, I’ve seen quite a few driverless taxis on the roads. It seemed so usual that there was no particular noise around them on the street corners. Yet, for me, it was a magical sight. As I said, I will not dwell on this subject because I am back in Karachi, where a terrifying human tragedy has overwhelmed my senses. I cannot put it aside as the main point of my column.
What is remarkable here is not just the news that there was an open manhole and a child fell into it and died. Yes, that in itself would be a source of concern and a human tragedy that would touch our hearts. But the circumstances in which this week’s tragedy took place are exceptional. CCTV footage of the incident which was later revealed is heartbreaking. I had the distressing experience of watching it and feeling disbelief at what actually happened.
There are reasons why the death of a three-year-old boy after falling into an open manhole has shaken administration, both local and provincial. The fact that this response was somewhat late calls for some explanation. Still, the incident generated much attention and debate, and media coverage sought to reflect the anger and grief of the population at large.
As I said, the death of little Ibrahim Nabil presents particularities. First of all, let us consider the fact that the incident did not happen in a desolate place but on the well-lit and rather busy sidewalk in front of a department store in Gulshan-e-Iqbal. This happened in the presence of the child’s parents and others. Ibrahim fell into the sewer hole and was literally swallowed up as he could not be immediately rescued from the drain below and was swept away. His body was found in a sewer around fifteen hours later, in a place very far from view.
I tried to summarize it, but the details of the episode are complex and difficult to understand. Many questions should be raised. Apparently, the massive BRT construction activity along University Road, which disrupted traffic on a vital artery, complicated matters. But it also ensured that heavy machinery was at hand.
There is little clarity on how the rescue operation was carried out after people at the site raised the alarm. Naturally, however, different agencies were involved and much digging was done along the drain where the water flowed. A large number of agents must have been involved in this activity.
But look at the irony of the situation: Ibrahim’s body was discovered by a teenager in an open sewer near Sir Syed University. This is how the operation which continued all night ended on Monday. The boy, considered a “scavenger”, although some have disputed this assumption, was invited to the office of a senior police official and presented with a bouquet. It was, of course, a photo shoot for the media.
In fact, the story of uncovered manholes is an old story in Karachi, as it should be in other South Asian cities. Usually, manhole covers are stolen by drug addicts and city staff are tasked with keeping an eye on them. I remember writing stories about open manholes when I was a young journalist, around 50 years ago.
(As an aside, I remember noticing large iron manhole covers in Manhattan, New York, made in India by Tata.)
Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Wednesday suspended five officials, including the region’s deputy commissioner, for their alleged negligence. This step was taken following denials of responsibility by KMC and BRT (Red Line) officials after trading allegations of negligence. Also on Wednesday, Mayor Murtaza Wahab visited the family of the deceased child to ask for “forgiveness”. He took responsibility for Ibrahim’s death and said he would not engage in any blame games.
One aspect of this open manhole tragedy was the immediate protest from the local community. On Sunday evening, after Ibrahim got lost in the sewers, a crowd blocked traffic on University Road and the nearby overpass for a few hours. This is how the crowd reacts when a serious accident occurs. In many ways, it is an expression of the powerlessness of the people. How should they have behaved as responsible citizens?
Anger and feelings of outrage within civil society are more widespread. A district court has issued notices to the mayor, the head of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation and a number of others regarding an application for registration of a case against them. Social media is flooded with angry comments.
Whatever this tragedy may teach us about the situation prevailing in Karachi, its citizens have no choice but to embark on a dangerous path that may also have an open manhole.
The writer is a seasoned journalist. He can be reached at: [email protected]
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policies of PK Press Club.tv.
Originally published in The News
