Thieves leave nearly 200 families in Chisinau without water

Over 200 families in Chisinau remained without water on old-style Christmas Eve after unknown persons had broken into the building’s basement and had stolen 4 water meters and 3 faucets from the main pipe, the water utility Apa-Canal Chisinau (ACC) said in a press release. ACC informed the Rascani Police Commissariat and an investigation has been started, but the thieves haven’t been identified yet. “It’s the first case when meters and faucets are stolen from a building’s basement in Chisinau. It has cost the utility 50,000 lei to replace the stolen equipment”, ACC director Constantin Becciev stated at Monday's ordinary meeting at the City Hall. The director said that the utility employees came to the scene immediately after being informed about the incident. For two hours they replaced the meters and faucets and the block was reconnected to the water supply. During the repairs, the block dwellers have been supplied with water as two water tanks have been brought in the block yard. Constantin Becciev said the Apa-Canal Chisinau workers together with policemen should intensify controls in blocks. Becciev proposed a municipal plan of actions in this regard. The AAC director doesn’t rule out that the meters and faucets could have been stolen by representatives of companies that win tenders organized by sector praetor’s offices by offering a lower cost than on the market and then install them in other blocks. Constantin Becciev added that because of stolen manhole caps, the municipal enterprise Apa-Canal Chisinau suffers annual losses of 200,000 lei. The director recalled about the similar theft of 11 hydrants from the recently built main pipe in Sangera town.