Around 10 years ago, to mark the entrance to Puducherry, the government erected a marble structure near the Athithi signal.
On the marble structure were two brass plates, one with a map of the town, and another with writing about Puducherry.
The structure was intended to mark the erstwhile entrance to Puducherry in the year 1874. Unfortunately, for the past one month or so, the brass map has been missing and no action has been taken so far. Everyday, thousands of people pass the Ajantha signal to enter town, and while many people may not even notice the plaque, occasionally a couple of tourists stopped by to look at it.
Apart from that, it had not received much attention. For over a month now, the map alone had been missing but many people had not noticed even that, a shopkeeper Balu, whose shop is across from the plaque, said.
The plaque, which was made of brass, weighs around 8 kg and is approximately 4 feet by 3 feet in dimension.
According to a local scrap dealer Jaikrishnan, a plaque of that weight could sell for around Rs. 3000. The standard cost per kg of brass was Rs. 320, he said.
However, none of the officials contacted had noticed that the map was missing and no case has been registered as yet.
The map as well as the plaque is under the control of the Public Works Department, but only after it was pointed out to them, did anybody notice that it was missing, an official of the Department said.
Similarly, a couple of brass plates that were in the front of the Mairie building (old Town Hall) have also been missing for the past month or so.
It is a shame to see that government property can be stolen so easily and not noticed,
Sreekanth, a resident who had initially pointed out the missing map and plaque, said.
