Manhole cover theft is the phenomenon of manhole covers being stolen, usually for resale as scrap. Long considered to be a childish prank in the United States, this type of theft is often expensive to municipalities, and dangerous to their residents. Princeton University manhole cover, Princeton, NJ, USA Pick holes in manhole cover, Palo Alto, CA, USA Kraków manhole cover (note integral hinge) Painted manhole cover in Matsumoto, Japan. ...

It first became a serious problem in India and China, where missing manhole covers have caused eight deaths so far. Hundreds of manhole covers are stolen in the city of Bangalore, India every month. In Newham, East London, nearly 200 grates and covers were stolen. For other uses, see Bangalore (disambiguation). ... Newham Town Hall in East Ham (E6) Logo on the roadside at sunset The London Borough of Newham is a London borough in East London, within Greater London. ... The East End of London, known locally as the East End, is an area, with no formal authority or boundaries, that spans a number of administative districts of London in England. ...

In the city of Calcutta, India more than 10,000 manhole covers were taken in two months. These were replaced with concrete covers, but these were also stolen, this time for the iron rods inside them. The thieves were believed to be buying lottery tickets with the money. , “Calcutta” redirects here. ... A lottery is a popular form of gambling which involves the drawing of lots for a prize. ...

Missing covers and grates may cause disappearances, deaths, and damage to vehicles.

According to China's Xinhua news agency, about "240,000 manhole and street-drain covers were stolen in Beijing in 2004." ^[1]

China Shakes the World, by James Kynge, describes the phenomenon as such: James Kynge, a recipient of several journalism awards, was the China Bureau Chief for the Financial Times for seven years until 2005. ...

...in the several weeks beginning in mid-February 2004, when, slowly at first but with mounting velocity, manhole covers started to disappear from roads and pavements around the world. As Chinese demand drove up the price of scrap metal to record levels, thieves almost everywhere had the same idea. As darkness fell, they levered up the iron covers and sold them to local merchants, who cut them up and loaded them onto ships to China. The first displacements were felt in Taiwan, the island just off China's southeast coast. The next were in other neighbors such as Mongolia and Kygyzstan... Wherever the sun set, pilferers worked to satisfy China's hunger. More than 150 covers disappeared during one month in Chicago. Scotland's "great drain robbery" saw more than a hundred vanish in a few days. From Montreal to Gloucester to Kuala Lumpur, unsuspecting pedestrians stumbled into holes.

Thefts

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See also

• Street sign theft
• Air valve theft
• Parking meter theft

A sticker on the back of this Illinois street sign is intended to deter theft. ... Parking meter theft is theft of parking meters, often as a prank. ...

References

1. ^ Archived version of "Putting a lid on rampant manhole theft" at CNN (now inaccessible original)
2. ^ Manhole covers stolen in Prague by homeless people in protest against being evicted from sewer systems

The Cable News Network, commonly known as CNN, is a major cable television network founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. ...

External links

1. Manhole covers vanish in the night
2. Manhole covers swiped at an alarming pace
3. 10,000 manhole covers vanish
4. China manhole thefts prove deadly
5. Own a Piece of Vail
6. Manhole covers disappearing, Thefts may be tied to high resell
7. New manhole covers to beat the vandals (City of Johannesburg)