Mumbai: Old lifts, lack of maintenance means more accidents

Mumbai in the past two months saw four to five deaths due to lift accidents. And this can be attributed to very old lifts. In some of these cases the lifts were more than 25-30 years old. According to data from the state lift department, in the past seven years, 48 lift accident cases were reported, of which 40 per cent were fatal with 21 deaths. Investigation has revealed that 30 per cent of these cases took place due to human errors while the rest were system failure.

Also read: Mumbai: Teen girl dies in lift accident while playing hide-and-seek in Mankhurd

Charkop: A woman got stuck in the lift between third and fourth floor. Her son and security guard tried to pry it open, but the lift suddenly fell down

As per records, there are around 1,50,000 lifts across the state of which 1,20,000 are in Mumbai, Pune and Thane. However, there are only 100 staffers across the state, including 70 in Mumbai, Thane and Pune, to monitor these. "We inspect lifts once a year. If any discrepancies are found, notices are issued to the company in charge of maintenance. We visit the places again after the stipulated time to check if the parameters mentioned are in place. If a company is found to be at fault repeatedly, we revoke their registration," said a lift inspector, adding that they visit at least 2,500 to 2,700 lifts each in a year.

Kasturba: The man had poked his head out to see if his grandson was there. Before he could step back, the door closed and his head got stuck

Lift Inspector Uday Dambe said, "The life mechanical parts of lifts is around 20 years, but people keep using them for 30 to 40 years without taking permission. As per the rules, lifts can be operational for only 20 years. Annual maintenance of the lift must be done comprehensively each year, but many societies do not do it."

Malad: The lift started moving upwards as the teacher entered. Her bag got caught in the lift and her body got crushed

Dambe said, "We are going to start an online service where people will be able to call and book appointments for lift inspections from us. The society and maintenance contractor will also have to submit their reports online, thus they cannot escape from their responsibility. And in case of such incidents, people should take the help of experts instead of trying to pry open the doors themselves."

Mankhurd: A teen had poked her head through a squre opening on the door. The lift came down and crushed her head

Amended rules awaiting nod

The Maharashtra Lift Act was passed in 1939 and the rules were formed and implemented in 1958. The Act was amended in 2017 and the draft new rules were sent to the state law and judiciary department nine months ago. However, it has not been approved yet. "Considering the international technology standard which has led to a decrease in lift accidents across the world, we added new rules in 2017. These rules need to be added in the Lift Act and implemented," said an officer from the state lift department. He added that after the nod, they will send notifications to buildings.

Charkop

Nagina Mishra, 62, was injured in a lift mishap in Charkop on October 21. She later died while undergoing treatment at a hospital on October 29. The incident took place when lift stopped between fourth and third floors with Mishra in it. After Mishra screamed for help, his son and the building security guard tried to open the door. However, the lift suddenly fell to the ground floor, inflicting grievous injuries to Mishra. The report by the lift inspector stated that the 23-year-old lift had loose brakes, leading to it getting stuck. As it was supposed to go to the ground floor, the ropes that hold the lift kept unrolling. When the security guard kicked the door from outside, the lift started to move and fell directly to the ground floor. Mishra's son said there was mismanagement on part of the society and the maintenance contractor.

Borivli East

Ratan Patil, aged 74, sustained a serious injury in a lift mishap at his housing society on Kasturba Marg in Borivli East on October 2. The senior citizen succumbed to the grevours injuries five days later while undergoing treatment at a city hospital. Patil had entered the lift on the third floor while looking for his grandson when the accident took place. When the lift reached the first floor, he had poked his head out to see if his grandson was there. Before he could step back, the door started closing and his head got stuck. The lift meanwhile started heading to the ground floor, injuring him badly.
The lift inspector visited the spot after the accident and conducted an investigation. As per the report by the inspector, the incident took place due to mechanical failure and non-maintenance of the lift.

Malad

On September 16, 26-year-old Jenel Boniface Fernandes, a teacher, died in a lift mishap at St Mary's English High School in Malad. Fernandes was on the sixth floor and entered the lift to go to the second floor when the accident took place. As seen in the CCTV footage of the school, as Fernandes stepped in the lift, it suddenly moved upwards even as the doors remained open. Fernandes's bag got caught in the gap between the door and the wall, crushing her body. The lift inspector who visited the spot stated that the incident occurred due to brake failure and that the maintenance of the lift, which was 15 years old, was not done properly. The inspector held the school management and the maintenance contractor responsible for the incident who were later arrested by Malad police.

Mankhurd

Reshma Kharavi, a teenager, died on October 28 after her head got stuck partially into the square opening of the lift door and got crushed by the bottom of the lift. The lift was made operational just a few days before the incident. The lift inspector had stated that the square frame, which was added to the door with the help of a carpenter and kept open, was not in keeping with lift rules.

21
No of deaths in lift accidents across the state in past 7 years