Development-related tragedies

2026-01-30 - 21:56

THE strong action taken by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz vis-à-vis Bhati Gate tragedy in Lahore, in which a mother and her small daughter lost their lives, will go a long way in sensitizing the civic authorities to strictly follow rules and SOPs while carrying out developmental activities. The rescue teams recovered the bodies of 10-month-old Rida Fatima and her mother Saadia from a sewer line, who fell into an open manhole on Wednesday. The disciplinary action taken by the chief executive of the province is a welcome move but this is not enough as a murder caused by negligence and those responsible must be booked under the relevant provisions of the law. Declaring that the contractor, supervisor, consultant, Commissioner Lahore, Deputy Commissioner Lahore, Assistant Commissioner, LDA and Wasa collectively were responsible for the tragedy, the CM ordered dismissal and arrest of four officials, including the project director, project manager and safety in-charge of the ongoing construction project. Maryam directed the contractor to pay Rs10 million in compensation to the husband of the deceased woman and instructed the government to provide him with a taxi to support his livelihood. These measures will surely prove solacing for the bereaved family but the loss of precious lives cannot be undone. True to her style of governance, the CM has also issued instructions aimed at preventing such losses and damages in future. She ordered that all open manholes and excavation sites across the province be immediately covered, properly illuminated at night and fully secured. She also directed that wherever Safe City cameras had been removed due to construction work, temporary mobile or wireless cameras must be installed without delay. Open manholes and hanging wires pose serious risks to the lives of the people and tragedies like the Bhati Gate can be prevented if civic bodies and local administration fulfil their responsibilities and monitor developmental activities in a sustained manner. It may also be pointed out that contractors assigned the task of laying gas, electricity, water supply, sewerage and telephone lines routinely leave the dug-up roads and streets as such in sheer violation of their contractual obligations, a practice that has become one of the major causes of environmental hazards and damage to vehicles. We hope the CM will also take notice of such violations by contractors with active collusion of departments concerned.