The tragic death of a seven-year-old boy in Lodhran is yet another painful reminder of how administrative negligence continues to claim innocent lives in our country. A child went to market with his father to buy breakfast, an ordinary, joyful errand and never returned home. He fell into an open manhole in the Dhanot area and remained trapped for two agonising hours before his lifeless body was recovered. No words can capture the grief of his family, nor can any official action undo their loss.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif swiftly removed the district commissioner and ordered strict action, which is necessary. An FIR has been registered against contractor and sub-engineer responsible for the area. But let us be honest with ourselves, this is not the first such tragedy, and unless systemic change follows, it will not be the last.Only days earlier, Karachi was mourning the death of little Ibrahim, a three-year-old who also fell into an uncovered manhole reportedly left without a lid for days. His parents’ only child, he remained missing for 14 hours as desperate residents pooled money to rent machinery themselves. State machinery arrived only after a shocking delay. Public outrage eventually pushed authorities to suspend several officials, including senior municipal officers. But these decisions do not bring back the child whose life was so carelessly gambled away.
These incidents are not merely tragedies. They are national embarrassments. They expose not just gaps in governance but a deeper societal failure to value human life. How is it that in 2025, in major cities and towns, open manholes still lie uncovered? Why does action come only after a child dies? Mere expressions of grief, no matter how sincere, are not enough. Condolences do not save lives. Administrative reshuffling does not guarantee reform.
There is a need for preventive governance, not reactive statements. Public safety cannot be left to chance or to fate.Above all, we must stop treating such deaths as routine news. A society is judged by how well it protects its most vulnerable. When our children die because of uncovered manholes, it is not an accident, it is a failure of priorities.If these tragedies do not jolt us into permanent reform, then we are complicit in the next one.
