Most commuters are in a hurry to reach their destinations but there are some taking the Chennai Metro who seem to have other ideas. CMRL authorities say some commuters have been purloining stuff from stations around the city. Toilet paper, nozzles of fire extinguishers, copper wires and even dustbins have not been spared.
Officials of the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) said: “Initially, we noticed that toilet paper rolls and soap dispensers were missing; after that, nozzles in fire extinguishers were being stolen. Recently, someone even stole dustbins. This is not a problem in one particular station. We have stepped up vigil.”
Of late, they found that some have managed to walk away with copper wires in stations as well, another official said. “Copper is quite expensive and anyone who picks it up only wants to sell it off for a quick buck. Same is the case of fire extinguisher nozzles. But we are baffled as to why people want to steal toiletries. We are aghast to see that soap dispensers too go missing. We are not sure whether those stealing them are staff members or passengers,” he added.
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They haven’t managed to catch the thieves in most cases, they say. In one instance, they filed a police complaint and caught the person who stole the fire extinguisher nozzle nearly a year ago.
“How can we file a police complaint for toiletries or dustbins or copper wires? But in some cases like the fire extinguisher nozzle, we had to file one because firms refuse to sell us just the nozzle and ask us for a valid reason,” he added. Now, officials say, they have put employees on alert to prevent such incidents.