KARACHI, Jan 1: Celebratory firing on the New Year night in the city resulted in dozens of cases of stray bullet injuries. The unruly firing mostly by youths also hinted the heavy concentration of arms either licensed or unlicensed in the city. The cases of gunshot injuries started pouring in hospitals soon after the mid-night. Though an accurate figure was not available with the concerned health officials, it is estimated that several dozen cases of stray bullet injuries were treated at public hospitals. A similar number of cases were reported to the private hospitals.

Despite claims by the city administration that nobody will be allowed to resort to celebratory firing, youths were seen resorting to aerial firing with impunity in several areas including Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Gulistan-i-Jauhar and Nazimabad.

A four-year-old boy, Waris Shah and a ten-year-old girl Sadaf were brought with stray bullet injuries from Landhi and Jacoblines to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, hospital sources said.

Similarly, several other cases of stray bullet injuries were also reported to the hospital late in the night, these cases were referred from different private hospitals of the city. A similar situation was also witnessed at the Civil Hospital and Abbasi Shaheed Hospital during the night.

ACCIDENT: A man died in an accident in Steel Town on Sunday.