BENGALURU: Gold jewellery, including mangalsutras, figures among the forgotten items by Metro commuters inside trains or platforms recently. With the ridership surging above the 8 lakh mark on a daily basis frequently, items left behind by the forgetful too are on the rise.
Thanks to the stringent policy in place regarding items left behind by passengers and the overwhelming presence of CCTVs all over, commuters invariably get their items back if they make an attempt to collect them.
A Metro source said gold jewellery worth Rs 4 lakh, among the costliest items found so far inside its trains, was found on August 17 at the Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna (BRCS) Metro station. “A bag with 50 gm of jewellery comprising two gold chains and two gold rings was left behind by a passenger on platform one of the station around 10.30 pm. The bag also had Rs 3,500 in cash. A private security guard who found it sometime later alerted the security officer at the station,” the source added.
As is the norm with abandoned bags, it was first scanned using handheld metal detectors and passed through the X-ray inspection system before the contents were examined.
Within an hour, a passenger, Basavaraj Naganur, came to the station and staked claim to it. “He said he had arrived in Bengaluru from Belagavi the same day and was on way to Baiyappanahalli Metro station. After reaching there, Naganur remembered his bag and came rushing back to the BRCS station as he recalled placing the bag on the platform floor. The passenger was able to tell the colour of the bag and the contents inside. After crosschecking his ID, he was handed over the property,” the source said.
On August 14, a passenger, Beena Khan. forgot her handbag near the baggage scanner of Yeshwanthpur Metro station around 8 pm. “It had four gold rings and Rs 1,200 in cash. She reached the station later at night and got it,” the source said.
A senior Metro official added that they had found two gold mangalsutras in two separate incidents on the platforms at Nadaprabhu Kemepgowda Metro stations ten days ago. “They must have slipped and fallen when boarding or alighting. We rarely find mangalsutras. One woman came the following day to file a complaint and was relieved to find her jewellery with us. The other one is still in our ‘Lost & Found’ section at the Yeshwantpur Metro station.”
He added that tiffin bags were the most commonly forgotten items inside trains with a few bags found daily across stations. Laptops, helmets and umbrellas are the other items commonly left behind.
Items lost inside trains or stations are kept at the station for up to 24 hours to allow the passenger to come and collect it. Beyond that, items are sent either to the Yeshwantpur or Baiyappanahalli Metro stations which have a separate Lost & Found department. People need to produce their IDs and collect them within six months. In case of unclaimed items, an auction is held every six months to dispose of them.