The manhole menace

Another child falls into a manhole to lose his life to these gaping open death traps that should better be named as death holes. This was the third child this year to have met such a tragic end.

It happened in Mowach Goth where a three-year-old boy, drowned after falling into an open manhole. Open manholes claiming human lives is not an issue that is hidden from the eyes of the concerned authorities.

In fact, this is among the most talked-about problems and occupies a central position in the local politics of this metropolitan city. This is also not a new issue that has just come up but is one that has existed for as long as one can remember.

This was if I remember rightly one of the core issues addressed by a political party and added greatly to its popularity amongst the electorate in Karachi.

Since we are always looking towards the west for guidance there is no harm if we investigate how these manholes are rendered safe for the general public in the west and especially the US.

You will be surprised to know that there are over 20 million manholes in the US. Now keeping people out of this vast number of death traps must be a herculean task but then it is made easy with the help of technology.

Manholes in the US rarely become unsafe as a result of their covers being stolen by drug addicts to buy illicit drugs. Mostly these covers shift or get exposed after a big storm in which the pressure of wind and water exposes these manholes.

This is where a manhole scanning system is used to photograph and map manhole walls for potential structural changes leading to accidents. For those who need to enter a manhole for necessary maintenance a harness is a must; otherwise, it is almost suicidal to drop into a manhole without required safety apparatus.

Negligence on this vital point has cost many lives in Karachi. Every day we read of people in a building pooling money to get their water tanks cleaned or the local Nullah dredged for which unprofessional persons like the local sweepers or even building chowkidars are hired to do the job.

Without any safety apparatus like harness or masks these people dive in and even when one is affected and overwhelmed by poisonous gases another jumps in to save him again without any safety equipment and gets overwhelmed by the gases and there is more loss of life.

According to statistics, 19 deaths were reported across Karachi in 2024 due to falls in open manholes. Many of the victims are children who go out of their homes to play in their localities near open sewerage holes and without supervision of any adults resulting in tragic accidents like the death of a young man who disappeared and whose body was recovered after 4 days of hectic search from an open manhole.

Makes one ponder as to how parents and even neighbours of these unfortunate children never noticed that these children are playing so close to open manholes and either get the manholes covered or prevent children, specially toddlers, from playing so close to these death traps.

How do open manholes come into existence. The city government claims that they regularly cover open drains but their covers are stolen. Who is the culprit is the obvious question and the finger points to drug addicts who can be easily found lying around under bridges and underpasses and would do anything to get their “Fix” for the day.

If there are not metal covers but made of cement than perhaps their quality leaves much to be desired and over a period of time the covers erode and finally cave in, leaving open traps for innocent children.

Unfortunately, stealing manhole covers and drug addiction are both unlawful activities but somehow they flourish on main roads under the very noses of law enforcers.

Just as I was writing this I came across the news that two cousins drowned in a sewage drain in Jacobabad the other day. It is reported that their teenage cousin who had tried to save them was himself struggling for life in a local hospital.

It is sad how young promising lives are extinguished due to carelessness of the concerned and open manholes continue to inflict everlasting scars on unfortunate families of the victims.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025