Elevators in Chisinau to be guarded by state

The City Hall plans to conclude a contract with the “State Guard Service” Department in order to stop thefts from elevators, interim mayor Vasile Iordan told a City Hall session on Monday, March 12. According to him, at the first stage it is planned to implement a pilot project for 20 apartment blocks. Security systems will be installed in the regions were the most thefts were registered, especially in Botanica district. During two months, the Chisinau Police Department reported 15 cases of thefts from elevators, including 11 cases in Botanica district and 4 cases – in Centru district. According to the data provided by “Liftservice” Management, about 10-14 thefts are registered weekly, being stolen copper containing equipment. At the moment is quite difficult to repair the elevators as the spare parts are not being produced anymore, and the repair works are expensive. Out of the 77 lifts robbed since the beginning of the year, 54 have been reset to functioning with the expense of 66 thousands lei. A municipal programme on refitting the elevators was launched in February. It is planned to repair the illumination equipment, walls of the lift cages, and the command panels. About 200 elevators were already refitted. Local authorities consider that the number of refitted elevators can be higher, because the repair and refitting works are performed by the same persons. About 90 thefts from elevators were registered last year.