Three persons including two brothers died while another man fell unconscious due to poisonous gas, when they were trying to open a closed sewerage line in Mohallah Rashidabad of Sidhupura, here on Sunday morning. Shehzad Ali Mughal fell unconscious when he went into the sewerage gutter and then his brother Ejaz Ali followed him but he too didn't return. Ashfaq Yousaf and Mazhar Ali tried to save them and they also fell unconscious.
On complaint, the Rescue 1122 rushed to the spot and took out all of them from gutter. Shehzad and his brother Ejaz died on the spot due to poisonous gas, while Ashfaq expired in hospital. Mazhar Ali was admitted to Allied Hospital where his condition was said to be critical.
Soon after the incident hundreds of peoples of the area brought out a protest procession carrying the coffins of the deceased brothers and raised slogans against the WASA officials. They said that WASA officials' continued negligence claimed three lives. Protesters said that the sewerage water was flowing on streets but WASA authorities failed to shoulder their responsibility. They also denounced the FDA over their negligence.
The protesters blocked roads and demanded registration of murder case against the relevant officials whose failure to discharging their duties caused the deaths. They dispersed after DSP Abid Zafar and other police officials assured that a case would be registered against the responsible officials. The WASA toll free number 1334 was not working properly due to Sunday holiday. However, MD WASA Faqir Muhammad Chaudhry announced suspension of three officials including Assistant Director Mohammad Khalid Khan, Sub Engineer Mohammad Arsalan and Supervisor Abdul Ghafoor. He said that further action would be taken after completion of a detailed inquiry.