KARACHI: Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab on Tuesday urged the public and political parties to avoid politicising the issue of uncovered manholes, a day after an eight-year-old boy drowned in an open sewer in Mehran Town, as official data showed that 27 people, including eight children, lost their lives in similar incidents across the city in 2025.
The child, identified as Dilbar, was playing outside his residence with other children in the neighbourhood when he fell into the manhole, according to Korangi Senior Superintendent of Police Fida Husain Janwari. Rescue workers later recovered the body.
Addressing the media, the mayor said preliminary information gathered from local residents and the child’s family suggested that the manhole cover had not been entirely missing but had been removed and placed beside the opening. He said this distinction was important and warned against turning the tragedy into a political controversy.
Wahab said he had been in direct contact with the bereaved family and had sought reports from relevant officials. He added that issues related to public safety should be examined on factual grounds rather than framed for political gain, cautioning that viral clips and charged narratives often distracted from addressing the underlying problem.
Referring to administrative measures taken by the city government, the mayor said the concerned union council had already received additional funds allocated earlier for local infrastructure maintenance, including manhole covers. He said the funds had been released as announced and that the city administration had acted within its capacity.
The mayor also raised concerns about the repeated disappearance of manhole covers after installation, suggesting theft as a contributing factor. Without naming individuals directly, he referred to a recent incident on II Chundrigar Road where newly installed covers reportedly went missing within a short period.
Wahab questioned claims made by political activists regarding emergency repairs, asking whether the city administration could be blamed for the removal or theft of covers after installation. He said the issue required enforcement, monitoring and community responsibility rather than public point-scoring.
According to data shared by the Edhi Foundation, 27 people died after falling into open manholes or drains in Karachi during 2025. Of these, eight were children. The figures reflect a continuing public safety concern across multiple districts of the city.
Earlier this month, another incident drew widespread attention when the body of a three-year-old boy, Ibrahim, was recovered from a manhole in Gulshan-i-Iqbal more than 12 hours after he was reported missing. That incident triggered protests by several political parties, who demanded accountability from city and provincial authorities and filed petitions in court seeking action against municipal officials.
In response to mounting criticism following recent fatalities, the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation increased the budget for 246 union committees to allow dedicated spending on the maintenance of manhole covers and streetlights. Officials said the funds were intended to reduce risks in residential and commercial areas.
City authorities maintain that while infrastructure repairs are ongoing, preventing further deaths will require sustained enforcement, protection of public assets and cooperation from residents to report hazards before accidents occur.
