Cash pours out of burst pipe in Chennai

It had all the ingredients of an Indian comic thriller. Early in the morning, a lorry laden with wood rams a pipeline and it bursts. Then, along with water, currency notes come gushing out. Soon, rumours spread that money is pouring out of a pipeline and people rush in to collect the notes. There is chaos and traffic in the area is brought to a halt. The drama, that unfolded on the Vyasarpadi bridge early on Tuesday, lasted nearly 30 minutes. The police said later that some thieves had hidden the currency notes under the pipe that was hit by the lorry.

According to the police, a lorry from Andhra Pradesh was headed towards Choolai to unload its load of logs at a few companies there. Thanks to the ongoing construction work on the new four-lane Vyasarpadi bridge, the traffic moved slowly in both directions. The many potholes underneath the bridge also contributed to the slow movement.

The driver of the wood-laden lorry while trying to avoid hitting another vehicle moving ahead, turned left and hit a pipeline underneath the railway bridge. The pipeline burst and water gushed out. Also, all of a sudden, currency notes in the denominations of Rs 20, 50 and 100, totalling nearly Rs 5,000, came out. The notes scattered all over, around 6.30 am. Several two-wheeler riders stopped and collected the cash. The news then spread like wildfire and scores of people from areas like Sathyamurthy Nagar and Vyasarpadi made a beeline to the spot. They abandoned their vehicles by the roadside and began gathering the wet currency notes. The resultant traffic snarl lasted nearly half an hour.

"There was complete chaos as the air was full of sounds. Initially, everyone thought the pipeline was full of cash. When there were no more currency notes, some of them even tried to break the pipeline further. Later, it was found that some thieves had hidden the currency notes behind the pipeline which may then have gushed out with the water," a middle level police officer said. Since the incident happened underneath the railway bridge, the Korukkupet railway police took up the case and later took the wood-laden lorry and its driver to the police station for further inquiry.