Delhi Metro’s ‘lost and found’ department recovers lakhs

The Delhi Metro’s “Lost and Found” department has recovered a whopping Rs 69 lakh in cash, Rs 38 lakh worth of cheques and demand drafts, and Rs 7 lakh worth of foreign currency, among other belongings, left behind by commuters of the rail network, according to data of the Delhi Metro available from January till November this year.

Not only cash, the Delhi Metro has also recovered 97 laptops, 322 mobile phones, 42 pieces of gold ornaments, 22 pieces of silver, 79 watches and 12 cameras that were left behind by commuters at several metro stations and metro trains this year alone.

According to Metro officials, the cash recovery this year has been at an all-time high with Rs 6,941,483 recovered till November, compared to last year when only about Rs 18 lakh had been recovered.

The recovered articles are thoroughly screened by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to check for any suspicious items, as the CISF is responsible for maintaining security at the Delhi Metro. The CISF then hands over the lost items to the Metro officials concerned. Most of the recovered belongings are restored back to commuters by the Delhi Metro’s “Lost and Found” department at the Kashmere Gate Metro station after proper verification and authenticity.

“If passengers or commuters lose their articles anywhere on the Delhi Metro premises or trains, the passenger can approach the customer care centre within 48 hours. If any claimant/passenger reaches the station within 48 hours, where lost articles are collected/deposited, the customer care team will hand over the said articles to the claimant after proper verification of his/her authenticity, including valid ID. After 48 hours, the articles are shifted to the ‘Lost and Found’ department at the Kashmere Gate Metro station and the passenger may collect their deposited articles from there,” a spokesperson of Delhi Metro said. “In most cases, passengers do come back to collect their lost belongings within the stipulated time frame. However, if the passenger/claimant does not come to claim any article within one month from its recovery date, deposited lost articles at the ‘Lost and Found’ office are disposed of by the Metro,” the spokesperson added.

The Delhi Metro network also maintains a list of lost and found articles on its website with detailed description of the items lost, and the Metro station from which the article has been recovered.