Thaindian News

By Madhuri Dey
Amsterdam, Nov 11, (THAINDIAN NEWS) Beautiful bronze statues depicting mythical and real characters have always been used all over the world to increase the beauty of cities. However, the same bronze statues can become a matter of headache for the city authorities if robbers loom at large with their eyes on them. Reports claim that the authorities of eastern Dutch city of Nijmegen have decided to dismantle around 10 statues off the street fearing robbery of the same. The decision was taken after some of its bronze statues went missing.

The city of Nijmegen that consists of many bronze statues, has been deprived of some by the robbers in recent past. Reports claim that the rise in the price of the metal alloy has led to its stealing. Some speculate that the stolen statues might have been already melted for the acquisition of the metal. However, the city authorities are not in a mood to allow the robbers lay their hands on any further bronze statue and therefore is planning to protect them. Among the 10 statues that the authority plans to safe-keep is “Mariken van Nieumeghen” which means Mariken from Nijmegen. Mariken refers to a local character who was mentioned in the earliest books of Netherlands that were written in the year 1500. Apart from “Mariken van Nieumeghen”, many other statues with historical background and significance are being planned to be removed.

However, it is still not known for sure whether all the bronze statues will be removed from their positions. The city authorities reportedly plan to safeguard some statues by embedding a GPS chip in them. However, there are most likely chances of them being replaced with copies of the same that would be made from some cheaper materials.