SWABI: The people of Saleem Khan village and its suburbs here on Monday protested against the killing of two children, who died after falling into a ditch in a nullah.

They blamed the contractors excavating sand from the Saleem Khan Badrinullah for the killing as excavation had left deep ditches in the stream filled with water. Cousins Hasham Khan, 12, and Khalfan Khan, 11, were playing near the ditches when they slipped into one of them filled with water and drowned.

The incident infuriated the local people because they had already moved an application to the officials of the district administration, requesting them to stop sand excavation in the nullah as the activity left deep ditches, posing serious threat to human lives.

“After the villagers moved the application, sand excavation stopped for a few days, but the powerful contractors resumed the activity in disregard to official orders,” said local Farooq Khan.

The people gathered at the Saleem Khan bus stop and then marched to the Karnal Sher Khan Chowk where they staged a protest demonstration.

During the protest, traffic on Swabi-Mardan, Swabi-Jehangira, Swabi-Maneri and Swabi-Topi roads remained suspended. The protesters became more infuriated when an official of the district administration told them to prevent their children from playing in the nullah.

Later, Swabi assistant commissioner Uzma Mukaram, DSP Noorul Amin, DSP Iftikhar Khan and other officials visited the protesters and assured the members of the victims’ family that an FIR would be registered against those responsible.

Published in Dawn, September 22nd, 2020