State apathy in Pakistan: Two sanitary workers suffocate to death in toxic manhole without basic safety gear

Chishtian [Pakistan], July 5 (ANI): In a grim reminder of the chronic neglect and hazardous working conditions faced by sanitation staff under Pakistani civic bodies, two sanitary workers suffocated to death due to toxic gases while another was left battling for his life in a critical condition while cleaning a manhole in Chishtian, as reported by Dawn.

The tragedy occurred on Saturday when three employees of the Chishtian Municipal Committee (MC) descended into a deep manhole in Mahboob Colony to clear a blocked sewerage line.

According to residents and grieving family members, the workers fell victim to deadly toxic fumes trapped inside the sewerage system because the Pakistani civic administration allegedly failed to implement basic safety measures before ordering them to enter the manhole.

Exposing the sheer apathy of state emergency services in Pakistan, the families of the deceased workers accused Rescue 1122 of a severely delayed response. They claimed that the two workers succumbed to the poisonous gases and were subsequently washed away in the pipeline due to operational negligence.

Dawn reported that local residents had to step in themselves to pull out the third worker from the toxic hole, rushing him to the Chishtian THQ Hospital before he was later transferred to the Bahawal Victoria Hospital in a critical state.

The victims’ heirs hit out at the municipal authorities, pointing out that MC officials had neither provided the workers with essential safety gear nor ensured that any safety protocols were being followed on the ground.

Defending the emergency response amid mounting public anger, Rescue 1122 Incharge Rao Sharafat asserted that rescue personnel arrived at the location within four minutes of receiving the alert. He stated that the families wanted the team to jump into the manhole immediately.

However, Sharafat argued that entering a manhole, which was only two and a half feet wide and 30 feet deep, and heavily filled with toxic gases, without securing proper precautions would have put the lives of the rescue personnel at risk, requiring them to take time for essential safety measures.

While the Chishtian MC Chief Officer and the local assistant commissioner remained unavailable for comment, sources told Dawn that MC Sanitary Incharge Tariq had been suspended for negligence, and a departmental inquiry had been ordered.

The incident has once again turned the spotlight on Pakistan’s poor human rights record regarding low-income municipal workers, who are routinely forced to risk their lives without protective equipment. Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz took notice of the incident and directed the concerned authorities to submit a report, Dawn reported. (ANI)

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