Key to 1.600 manhole covers and gutter grilles to prevent theft
If this pilot project proves to be a functional solution to the long-standing problem with theft, PE "Water and Sewerage" will procure and install a number of such systems.
Theft of manhole covers and grilles from the gutters for years is a serious problem in Skopje, which the authorities finally found appropriate decision.
In an effort to prevent their theft by unscrupulous citizens, PE "Water and Sewerage" has recently started the realization of the project for installation of systems for locking shafts and gutters.
- The realization of this project refers to the installation of 800 systems for locking gutters and 800 of manhole covers. Their installation will be carried out during the following period, on the entire territory of the city of Skopje - informed by this public company.
The problem with the theft of lids and grilles has been going on for years and decades, and very rarely the perpetrators have been identified and properly punished. These types of theft not only cause material damage to the public enterprise, but also endanger the health and safety of pedestrians, especially in the late evening hours when visibility is significantly reduced. Often due to open potholes and also due to stolen shutters or grilles, cars and buses often suffer.
PE "Water and Sewerage" explains that if in the field after the introduction of this project the theft of lids and grilles is reduced, an additional number of locking systems will be procured.
- If this pilot project proves to be a functional solution to the long-standing problem with theft, PE "Water and Sewerage" will start procuring a number of such systems and their installation. Thefts on the manholes and gutters are a phenomenon that PE "Water and Sewerage" faces in certain periods, and the damage is not only a problem of the company, but also of all citizens of Skopje - say the public company.
As an illustration, during the last year 187 gutters and 163 manhole covers were stolen, for the replacement of which PE "Water and Sewerage" allocated 4.963.083 denars, and from the beginning of 2022 on two streets, Srecko Puzalka and Finland , 32 gutters were alienated for which 477.376 denars were spent for replacement.
- The realization of this project is only one of the activities that PE "Water and Sewerage" undertakes to prevent theft of manhole covers and gutters, which acts in the direction of self-protection, but also in the direction of protection of citizens of the city of Skopje and increasing traffic safety - added the PE "Water and Sewerage".
