Local boy desperately seeks prosthetics

The criminal negligence by the officials of the Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) has cost a minor boy his hands after being electrocuted with some dangling high tension wires. The tragedy struck seven-year-old Obaid Ahmad when he accidentally touched the high-voltage wires on the rooftop of his uncle’s house. The accident took place in the Pindorian Sharif area on the eve of Eid-ul-Fitr almost three months ago.
The doctors at the PIMS had too amputate both of his hands to save his life Obaid’s family holds the IESCO administration responsible for the tragedy. They say they had repeatedly complained to them that the wires hanging too close to their roof could cause any mishap but to no avail.
Talking to Pakistan Today on Monday the said that other resident of the Raja Town and Pindorian Sharif neighbourhoods had also lodged similar complaints with the authority but nothing was done. After the fateful incident, Ahmad Hussain, the father of Obaid, tried to register a first information report (FIR) against the IESCO high-ups but the police refused to do so.
“I tried to register the FIR against the IESCO in Shahzad Town Police Station but the SHO concerned declined my request after which I had to move a court to seek justice,” said Ahmad. Ahmad is a police constable and his income is not enough to get the proper treatment of his wounded son. Narrating his family’s ordeal, Ahmad told this scribe that they were at his brother’s home on Eid day when the untoward incident took place.
“All of us were sitting in my brother’s house and Obaid went to the roof to play, but after a while, we heard his screams,” said Ahmad, choking back his tears. Pakistan Today has learned that 15% of burns cases in Pakistan involve electrocution and their number has been increasing rapidly.
The IESCO is, however, being apathetic to the situation and hence is responsible for the tragedies of many households.
“My son has no future, what will he do when he grows up, we have no money to buy him prosthetic hands,” he said. The local court, he said, also directed the Shahzad Town SHO to record his report and treat the culprits according to the law. “Three days have passed since the court’s order, but my FIR against the IESCO is yet to be registered,” he informed.
Ahmad said he went to the NIRM, a firm, to get artificial hands for his son. “But the price of each hand is Rs 2.8 million, which is totally unaffordable for us,” he said, adding that he was still hopeful since there were a number of organisations in the country that could provide his son prosthetic hands. He appealed the government and non-governmental organisations to help him get a pair of artificial hands. “The only option I am left with now is to get my son artificial hands so he could lead a semi-normal life,” he said.
A senior IESCO official told Pakistan Today that “such incidents” occurred due to illegal extensions in buildings and that was why in some areas the wires were almost touching the buildings. He said the authority had served warning notices to those violating the building codes to avert “such incidents”.