Metal thieves create new danger for pedestrians in Islamabad

Missing covers pose a significant public safety risk. Pets, pedestrians, cyclists and motorists are at serious danger by the open catch basins in F-7 and F-8 sectors at Islamabad this part of season when they prefer to have nighttime walks with their pets.

“Metal thieves have opened a gaping hole in the public safety of our streets.” says Abdul Jabber who has been resident of F-8/4 for more than 20 years.

Pedestrians face danger when they are walking on dark and rainy sidewalks. Thieves have stolen so many covers off storm drain basins that pedestrians now risk blindly stepping into a hole up to six feet deep that could result in a broken leg or worse.

Catch basins are located near curbs and in alleys to drain water from our roadways. They are covered with large metal grates. Uncovered, most catch basins are a foot or two deep. Others can be as deep as five or six feet.

 “In the dark, people may not recognize that a catch basin is missing or the open hole may be covered with leaves and debris making it harder to distinguish the hole from solid ground.” Says Munir, an old man, who lives in F-7 and prefers evening walks with his wife in the nearby area.

When city staff receives a report of a missing cover they secure the location, mark the danger and if necessary call a crew to replace the stolen cover, says Ramzan the official spokesman for the  CDA adding “Out of these, 3,000 manhole covers are managed by the Roads Division of the CDA,”

He insisted that the authority’s civic management wing was in the process of limiting the theft of manhole covers but “we can’t keep an eye on every manhole cover every day.”

A catch-basin cover is made of cast iron and weighs about 140 pounds. “There are gangs of young and old thieves, mostly from the squatter settlements of the capital,” he said, “and they are equipped with hammers and iron cutters to dismantle the covers within few minutes.”

Commenting over the financial loss faced by the authority he added that the per month loss crosses over Rs148, 000.