PESHAWAR: Over 4,400 manhole covers have been stolen or damaged mostly by drug addicts in the urban limits of the provincial capital during the last one year, claims the Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar (WSSP).

The civic agency’s figures available with Dawn show that the most manhole covers were stolen and damaged in Zone C, which comprises 21 urban union councils.

The officials told Dawn that the issue had grown so big that the WSSP replaced iron manhole covers with concrete slabs as a solution but the trick didn’t work as the thieves began tearing them apart to extract iron used in it to sell.

They said the WSSP wrote to several police stations last month seeking registration of FIRs over the theft of manhole covers.

WSSP seeks FIRs against culprits mostly addicts

The letters available with Dawn read that a group of unidentified people was involved in the theft of iron grates or manhole covers from different areas.

According to the WSSP, the missing manhole covers not only cause financial loss to it but also render people vulnerable to mishaps.

It also said in the letters said the manhole cover thefts were also restricting the civic utility’s efforts to improve sanitation services in the provincial capital as the most complaints on the Prime Minister’s Portal were related to the replacement of missing manhole covers in the city.

“Apparently, it seems that this a planned crime with group of people involved, therefore, it is requested to register an FIR and mobilize your staff to unearth those responsible in this illicit act,” it wrote in the letter.

A WSSP official told Dawn that the police had yet to take action on the complaint.

The WSSP figures showed that a total of 4,401 manhole covers were ‘stolen, lost or damaged’ in 21 union councils falling in Zone B, while 50 manhole covers were stolen or damaged in Zone C.

A CCTV camera grab shared by the company showed a man riding a white car remove manhole covers and put them in his vehicle before driving away.

The time stamp on the video shows that the theft took place at around 3am, while the civic utility’s officials suspect the incident took place in the limits of the Gulabahar police station.

Hassan Ali, spokesperson for the WSSP, told Dawn that besides police, they were also contacting the people for ‘raising awareness and soliciting help’ to check manhole cover theft.

He said the civic utility’s almost entire repair and maintenance budget was being spent on the replacing the huge number of manhole covers.

Mr Ali said thousands of the manhole covered sewerage lines and drains in the areas served by the company.

He said around 20 iron and concrete covers were stolen in different zones on a daily basis.

“These thefts are making the job of protecting women, children and elderly lives very difficult for us,” he said. An iron manhole covers costs up to Rs25,000.

The spokesman said stolen or damaged manhole covers from Zone A and C cost the company up to Rs5 million a year.

He said the WSSP tried to replace iron covers with concrete ones to prevent thefts but thieves began breaking apart the concrete slabs to steal iron from them.

According to district administration’s estimates, around 1,000 drug addicts live on the city’s streets.

Published in Dawn, February 25th, 2022