Manhole Thieves in Kolkata
Amitava Das
The Statesman
___________
Kolkata, West Bengal (India):
Thieves are prowling the city streets, stealing manhole covers, leaving gaping holes across Kolkata. Officials suspect the 208 kg cast iron lids, worth Rs 3,800, are sold in the market as scrap iron, but the possibility of their being resold to the civic body, in alliance with a section of Kolkata Municipal Corporation staff, has not been ruled out.
Theft of the lids is on the increase as the work of removing the silt in the drains is carried out in winter. Mr Swapan Datta Gupta, chief engineer, drainage department chief said: “Once the lids are opened for work, the covers remain a bit loose, when they are put back in the evening. The thieves keep tab on roads where the work of removing silt is being carried out. We have found that manhole lids that were opened, are missing the following morning.”
Armed with tools such as hammers and shovels, thieves arrive in groups by auto-rickshaws and steal the lids from roads.
Once stolen, they tend to be replaced with temporary concrete and plastic covers, while new iron and concrete lids are ordered from private companies. KMC has a limited number of iron lids in store.
Nov 30, 2005
Amitava Das
The Statesman
___________
Kolkata, West Bengal (India):
Thieves are prowling the city streets, stealing manhole covers, leaving gaping holes across Kolkata. Officials suspect the 208 kg cast iron lids, worth Rs 3,800, are sold in the market as scrap iron, but the possibility of their being resold to the civic body, in alliance with a section of Kolkata Municipal Corporation staff, has not been ruled out.
Theft of the lids is on the increase as the work of removing the silt in the drains is carried out in winter. Mr Swapan Datta Gupta, chief engineer, drainage department chief said: “Once the lids are opened for work, the covers remain a bit loose, when they are put back in the evening. The thieves keep tab on roads where the work of removing silt is being carried out. We have found that manhole lids that were opened, are missing the following morning.”
Armed with tools such as hammers and shovels, thieves arrive in groups by auto-rickshaws and steal the lids from roads.
Once stolen, they tend to be replaced with temporary concrete and plastic covers, while new iron and concrete lids are ordered from private companies. KMC has a limited number of iron lids in store.
Nov 30, 2005
