chinese officials have taken an unusual step in the fight against scrap metal thieves by starting to fit their manholes with gps tracking devices councils across the country are rushing to snap up the new high tech manhole covers as they try to curb the theft of the old, low tech versions, according to the people's daily online the seemingly drastic measure was taken after previous anti theft measures   chaining the manhole covers to street lamps   left officials red faced, turning for sale in various places around the world high tech: the new manhole covers are fitted with tracking devices to help authorities find the thieves  problem: more than 240,000 manholes were stolen in beijing over a 10 year period, thanks to metal values  the chains also proved unpopular, with many pointing out they could easily be cut, and were dangerous for people walking along the street one man has even demanded compensation after falling flat on his face, thanks to the chain it is hoped these new covers, which were developed by a chinese tech company, will not only put would be thieves off stealing the items, but also help track those who do give into temptation the covers, along with drain grills, can fetch high prices on the black market, as the price of scrap metal has spiraled in recent years it has been estimated that more than 240,000 manhole covers were stolen from beijing's streets in the 10 years to 2013 alone measures: previous attempts at curbing thefts   like tying the manholes to lamp posts   have not worked  the new covers, designed to have shock absorption and noise reduction features, are made out of a metal with a far lower value, as a further deterrent a test batch of 100 smart manhole covers will be placed on streets in the city of hangzhou this month,  and   if it is a success   they will be added throughout the city but it is not just about the money officials have revealed there is a safety concern motivating their purchases as well, as people could trip on an upturned manhole tao xiaomin, of hangzhou urban management office, explained: 'when a cover is moved and the tilt angle is greater than 15 degrees, the tag will send an alarm signal to us'
10 year beijing china
new high tech covers hope to curb the number of thefts on china's streets  more than 240,000 manhole covers stolen in beijing over a 10 year period  authorities previously tried chaining them to lamp posts to prevent thefts  but people derided the idea as 'stupid' because thieves just cut the chains 