Karachi's manhole Tragedy: Tanveer, awarded cash prize for locating drowned child Ibrahim

KARACHI: Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Dr. Farrukh Raza on Tuesday awarded a cash prize and a bouquet of flowers to Tanveer, the child who helped locate the body of three-year-old Ibrahim. Ibrahim had tragically drowned after falling into an open manhole near the Nipa roundabout on Sunday night, ARY News reported.

Tanveer, a garbage collector, visited the SSP East office, located on Shahrah-e-Faisal, opposite the Drigh Road Railway Station, where he met with the SSP.

Dr. Farrukh Raza not only welcomed the child and awarded him the cash prize and bouquet, but also adorned Tanveer’s father with a flower garland.

Tanveer voluntarily found Ibrahim’s body in the drainage system and handed it over to the authorities. His discovery ended the almost 15-hour-long search operation.

It is pertinent to mention here that the child, who was shopping with his parents, fell into an uncovered manhole near NIPA roundabout in front of a shopping mall.

No government machinery arrived at the spot; the local people themselves arranged Rs 15,000 to hire machinery. Despite this effort, the body could not be recovered by them.

Alarmingly, a police officer reportedly slapped the garbage collector when he informed them he had found the child’s body and handed it over to the authorities.

The toddler was laid to rest yesterday amidst widespread sorrow and grief.

After the incident whole of Karachi expressed outrage against Mayor Karachi Murtaza Wahab and the Sindh government over their constant failure to overcome such issues that have the head of the water and sewerage board and solid waste management.

As many as 23 lives have been lost in such incidents in the recent past. Meanwhile, citizen deaths have become a regular occurrence in Karachi due to various incidents, including accidents caused by heavy traffic and fatalities resulting from resistance to robberies. The Sindh government is directly responsible for this situation.