PINAR DEL RIO, January 8 (Víctor Rolando Arroyo, UPECI /
www.cubanet.org) - The theft of aluminum irrigation pipe in this province has
reached a magnitude that has farmers and administrators concerned and is
expected to affect agricultural yields.
Paradoxically, the pipes stolen from the fields of government-operated
cooperative farms are melted down in clandestine furnaces and traded back to the
government under its metal recycling program. The recycling facilities typically
trade the metal for clothing, toiletries, bicycle parts and alcoholic beverages.
After a dry winter, "aluminum fever," as it is called here, has
substantially diminished irrigation capacity and is expected to lower yields in
the region.
The theft of metals is not new to the area. Some years back, it centered on
the bronze rings and other fixtures that could be found in cemeteries. More
recently, a man was jailed for stealing components of high-voltage transmission
lines with which he built fences, walls and roofs.
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