#VinitasPune: Passenger Lifts Are Meant To Ease, Not Kill

Stuck in an elevator
Image used for representation only.

 

To be honest, each time I get into a Lift, I feel claustrophobic. Do you feel the same way too?

Claustrophobia along with a feeling of being trapped in a lift is a common fear across the world. Yet, in our country, the dangers are more real, considering the safety regulations are often compromised and regular lift inspections are conspicuous by their absence.

Did you know that Maharashtra has a section called the Electrical Inspectorate (under the Industry, Energy and Labour Department) which is in charge of inspecting Lifts of residential and commercial buildings in Maharashtra?

Malfunctioning Lifts is a common issue in many housing societies of Pune, yet, we have this tendency to give the lift the benefit of the doubt and don’t learn lessons from lift accidents that occur due to machine malfunction.

All that is required to minimise such accidents is proper installation by certified experts,
yearly maintenance contract with the lift manufacturer, regular inspection by lift inspectors and adherence to strict maintenance schedules and operating rules on the part of the society. Elevators are usually essential in most buildings, especially for people with mobility issues. Finding a reliable company to install one can be difficult. Although, there are some highly rated companies out there. Modular Elevator Manufacturing modular elevators are DSA approved elevators. You could always consider using a company like them to install your elevator, however be sure to look around before contacting a manufacturer. Elevators can be dangerous, make sure yours is fitted correctly and safely.

Lift accidents have been occurring from the time our cities started growing vertically and it is often the callous attitude of everyone around that leads to disregard for safety.

In the last fortnight in Pune, two lift accidents occurred with one of them involving a seven year old child turning fatal. She got stuck in an elevator door between the second and third floor in Zohra housing complex in Ghorpade Peth and died.

In another incident, a pregnant woman got stuck with a doctor and a few others, in a lift at the Sassoon General Hospital for over 30 minutes in the wee hours of 16th October. It took enormous efforts by the fire department to get them all out safely.

Just a few months ago, a lady in a posh housing society complex in Pimple Saudagar fell to her death when the lift door accidentally opened before the lift cabin came up. Unknowingly, she stepped in. In a similar tragedy, a security guard of a Bandra complex died when the door of the lift on the 11th floor opened while the lift cabin was still held up on the 17th floor.

While infrastructure development is a fashionable word for any government that comes to power, the safety aspects- be it the quality of building construction, installation of lifts or even construction of roads is barely adhered to!

Added to this, is the usual issue of under-staffed departments. Mumbai and Pune are classic examples- Mumbai with 25,000 multi-storied buildings has only 14 lift inspectors and Pune has 12 for 20,000 lifts in the city!

According to activists who have been mooting for a more stringent law, lifts are allegedly installed before inspection and verification by the inspectorate since they are short staffed.

The lift inspectors barely visit the sites for periodic inspections leading to compromised safety standards.

Additionally, several housing societies hesitate to sign an AMC (annual maintenance contract) with the original lift manufactures as it is more expensive in view of original parts being used.

In January, the state government introduced the Maharashtra Lifts, Escalators and Moving Walks Act, 2017. This act has been brought to provide for the regulation of the construction, erection, maintenance and safe working of all classes of lifts, escalators, moving walks and all machinery and apparatus pertaining thereto in the State of Maharashtra.

The Act makes it mandatory for the housing society to have third party insurance in case of an accident; the Lift must adhere to the Bureau of Indian Standards or the National Building Code norms. Heavy penalty will also be levied to the housing societies that violate this law. The lift or escalator company will also be held liable, prosecuted and punished for accidents that occur in the lift or escalator due to malfunctioning of any safety provision.

The bill makes it mandatory for buildings that have escalators to obtain a license in retrospect.

Key Highlights of the Act:

  • Every owner of a place intending to install a lift or escalator or moving walk in the place after the commencement of this Act, has to get permission from the Electrical Inspector (Lifts) to erect lift or escalator or moving walk. Such permission to install a lift or escalator or moving walk shall be valid for a period of 1 year. Such validity may be further extended for a period of 6 months at a time as may be allowed by the Chief Electrical Inspector for sufficient reasons in writing
  • Every owner of a place, permitted to erect or install a lift or escalator or moving walk, has to, within 1 month after the completion of the erection or installation of such lift or escalator or moving walk, intimate the Electrical Inspector (Lifts) of such completion and get a license for working or using the lift or escalator or moving walk. License for working of the lift, escalator or moving walk, shall be valid for a period of 20 years from the date on which it is granted.
  • Such license may be renewed for not more than 5 years at a time subject to satisfaction of the Electrical Inspector (Lifts) about the safe operation of the lift, escalator or moving walk.
  • Every owner of a place, in which an escalator or moving walk has already been installed before the date of the commencement of this Act, shall within 6 months from such commencement date apply for a license for the working of such escalator or moving walk to the Electrical Inspector (Lifts).
  • The owner shall, after the completion of the erection of such lift or escalator or moving walk, ensure third party insurance so as to cover the risk of passengers using such lift or escalator or moving walk.
  • Every lift, escalator or moving walk shall be inspected periodically at least once in a year or at such earlier intervals, as the Government may specify by notification in the Official Gazette, by an Electrical Inspector (Lifts) or such officer appointed in this behalf by the Government.


Hopefully, this new Act (which replaces the earlier Maharashtra Lifts Act 1939), will be implemented in its true spirit and there is increased compliance to ensure the safety of lift passengers in this state.

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#All views expressed in this column are those of the author and Pune365 does not necessarily subscribe to them.

Vinita Deshmukh