Fencing next to railway line stolen
Criminals are stealing the palisades that must keep people and animals off the railway tracks.
The palisade fence the municipality built next to the railway line between Oberholzer and Welverdiend is disappearing, piece by piece.
Observant residents started noticing that the palisades were being stolen in the past month.
The Merafong City Local Municipality put these palisades up in 2012 to keep residents and animals from walking over the Transnet railway line between Khutsong South and the then-new Khutsong South extensions, commonly known as Khutsong Extension 5.
“It seems people are stealing the fencing to fence private yards. We also started seeing parts of it in the fence of a carwash in the area,” one of the residents who often drives on the road complains.
Many yards in the sections of Khutsong Extension 5, known as the “60s” and 70s”, now boast concrete palisades as fencing poles. Previously, they used wooden uprights for this purpose.
Despite this, residents say they are worried about the stolen fencing.
“What will they do to keep our children off the railway tracks?” a taxi driver asked while the Herald was at the site last Friday.
The newspaper asked the municipality about the issue on Tuesday.
“All service delivery complaints and enquiries should be directed to the municipal call centre at (018) 788 9990 or via WhatsApp at 082 516 0794. We encourage residents to use this centre optimally when they log their complaints. They will get a reference number they can use for follow-up later,” was the only response.
