The administration of SA “Apa-Canal Chisinau” ordered to inspect again the manholes managed by the company so as to see if they all have lids. Such an order comes after a 65-year-old woman fell into a manhole at 100B Ialoveni St and fractured her legs recently, IPN reports.

In a press release, the company said its specialists who travelled to the scene established that someone tried to steal the lid and displaced it. The police were informed about this. The water supplier is ready to cover the costs associated with the hospitalization of the injured woman.

According to “Apa-Canal Chisinau”, the situation concerning the stealing of manhole cast iron lids is alarming. As a result, dangers of injury appear for pedestrians. The supplier takes measures together with the law enforcement agencies to anticipate such actions, but the situation cannot be changed without the involvement of the people. The company calls again on the consumers to report cases of lid stealing.

In 1999-2016, there were stolen over 4,000 manhole covers and the damage caused to the company was assessed at almost 5 million lei. A crude oil lid costs about 1,300 lei. The covering of manholes with reinforced concrete lids continues to be frequently used, being cheaper, but not as efficient.

In the municipality of Chisinau, there are about 100,000 manholes that are covered with cast iron or reinforced concrete lids. 20,000 are managed by the water supplier, while the rest by other companies.

The citizens can report cases of stealing or attempts to steal manhole lids on 022-25-66-66 or 022-85-77-77 or can write a message to the email address acc@acc.md.