Manhole cover theft is the phenomenon of manhole covers being stolen, usually for resale as scrap. Long considered to be a childish prank in the United States, this type of theft is often expensive to municipalities, and dangerous to their residents.

It first became a serious problem in India and China, where missing manhole covers have caused eight deaths so far. Hundreds of manhole covers are stolen in the city of Bagalore, India every month. In Newham, East London, nearly 200 grates and covers were stolen.

In the city of Calcutta, more than 10,000 manhole covers were taken in two months. These were replaced with concrete covers, but these were also stolen, this time for the iron rods inside them. The thieves were believed to be buying lottery tickets with the money.

Missing covers and grates may cause disappearances, deaths, and damage to vehicles.

According to China's Xinhua news agency, Approximately 240,000 manhole and street-drain covers were stolen in Beijing in 2004. [1]

Most business analysts believe that the underlying cause is a global shortage of metals resulting from the entrance of China into the World Trade Organization in 2001 (which further accelerated the ongoing rapid industrialization of the Chinese economy). The Wall Street Journal has reported extensively on similar problems with other types of raw materials lying around in the open, like telephone wires and paper (left out for pickup by recycling organizations).

Thefts

Location-number-types-date

• Columbus, Ohio - 25 - grates and covers - August 2003
• Hong Kong - eight - manhole covers and gutterbox grates - January 2004
• Shanghai, China - 1,826 - manhole covers - January 2004
• Milwaukee, Wisconsin - more than 160 - grates -since January 1, 2004
• Gloucester, England - 48 - covers - March 11, 2004
• Fife, Scotland - 50 - covers - October 2004
• Aberdeen, Scotland - 130 - covers - 2004

• Detroit Lakes, Minnesota - one - cover - ?
• Daegu, South Korea - hundreds - misc. steel items - ?
• Vail, Colorado - taken as souvenirs
• Prague - 20 (per day) - revenge
• West Norfolk - ?
• Cambridgeshire - ?
• Lincolnshire - ?
• Powys - 40 - ?

See: street sign theft, air valve theft .

External links

• Manhole covers vanish in the night
• Manhole covers swiped at an alarming pace
• 10,000 manhole covers vanish
• China manhole thefts prove deadly
• Own a Piece of Vail
• Manhole covers disappearing, Thefts may be tied to high resell