Hyderabad: Despite repeated fatal incidents by lifts in the buildings, there are no proper guidelines on their maintenance and standards.
While all the South Indian states have a Lift Act, Telangana and AP are lagging behind. The GHMC while giving the permission for a building verifies installation of lifts by the builder. No agency is given charge regarding the maintenance of the lift. Senior officials from the GHMC electricity department said that only a Lift Act can minimise fatal accidents and streamline the functioning of lifts.
Sources in the electricity department said that the TS is working on a Lift Act which may come into effect soon. “Once this is in place, regular checks can be carried out and accidents can be curbed,” they said.
As per the National Building Code (NBC), it is mandatory for any building or apartment with G+3 construction to have a lift or an elevator.
The GHMC also checks if a lift is included in the plan. The GHMC has no authority to monitor functioning of the lift.
“Most of the lift accidents occur due to three reasons. Firstly, due to manufacturing defect. Secondly, mishaps occur due to poor maintenance.
Thirdly, due to electricity snarls. All aspects should be verified,” a senior GHMC official said. “As far as lifts are concerned, it is the duty of the consumer. No one inspects lifts, except checking service cables,” a official from Southern Power Distribution Company said.
Lift plunged twice in the past, say residents
The SVS Satyasai apartment complex, whose lift caused the tragedy, was constructed in 2003 and has 60 flats. A couple of years ago, the lift had plunged uncontrolled to the ground, but fortunately no one was injured, residents said.
The child rights organisation Balala Hakkula Sangham has demanded that a criminal case be booked against whoever is responsible for maintenance of the apartments. The NGO has also requested the Rangareddy district collector to give immediate financial help to the boy’s family.
The builder was one Damodar Reddy. Later it was taken over by Prashanti Constructions, owned by Hemalatha Reddy and Satish Reddy. Hemalatha is the wife of Kondal Reddy, a senior employee in the water works department.
N. Anjaiah, one of the residents and also the city president of the Federation of Apartments and Colonies Association, said that when they were given possession of the flats, much of the work still had to be completed and the flat owners even went to the consumer forum on a few issues.
The gap at the rear of the lift, which was left open for maintenance, was as it is when it was handed over to the residents. He said that many a times they noticed the gap and felt it to be dangerous, but never imagined that it would be fatal.
“A few things we could get done by the builder through the intervention of the courts, but on other issues, he could manipulate the facts and get away without doing the work. The apartment association had decided to close the gap with a fence recently, but after this incident, we have taken up the work on a war footing,” Mr Anjaiah said.
“Though the lift is under AMC, we have decided to replace it with a new lift as it has become old. The equipment has come and is awaiting installation by the technicians,” he added.
The residents contributed to the expenses of the little boy’s final rites and assured his father Cholangi Srinivas that he can continue to work for them if he returns to the city.
