Mumbai : Two children and three adults were injured when one of the lifts in a residential high-rise building in the city collapsed on Tuesday.
The incident happened in the morning in Suleman Tower located in Nagpada area. The seven-year-old, 19-storeyed building is located in the Arab Lane of the area.
“The lift was descending from the 16th floor. When it reached the 10th floor, it began to lose control and started collapsing straight down,” said PL Tiwari, the temporary lift operator of the building. He was in the lift when the incident occurred and has sustained minor injuries to his legs and ankle.
Among those injured are two children – Anwar Mallik (14) and Hanzla Shaikh (8). Both of them were accompanied by their parents in the lift and were on their way to school.
“Anwar has injured both his legs will undergo a surgery for a rod to be inserted in his leg,” said a family member.
While Anwar has been admitted to Nair Hospital, Hanzla was admitted to Sri Harkishandas Hospital where he is being treated for injuries to his leg.
“The incident occurred around 7.15 am on Tuesday. I was in my house when I suddenly heard a loud crash,” described a resident of the building. “The lift is not maintained properly and keeps halting routinely. Sometimes it gets stuck between floors and the watchman has to extract people out of the lift by forcefully opening the doors.”
The lift was contracted six years ago by Liftech India, a Chennai-based company. Though the building was occupied by the residents seven years ago, a society with required committee members was not registered. This meant that the builder was responsible for the maintenance of the building. “We pay Rs 1,200 per month as maintenance charges for the building,” said another resident.
The building has been developed and built by Aalam Qureshi.
While the Nagpada police recorded the statements of those injured, none of the residents were willing to file an FIR. “The residents were very scared of the builder and hence are hesitant to file an FIR. Even the parents of those injured refused to complain against the builder,” said a constable from the Nagpada police station.
When this reporter visited the hospital where one of the injured is admitted, she found a family member of the builder present with the injured child’s family. “They are taking care of the medical expenses. Why should we file an FIR against them now?”asked the sister of the injured boy.
However, taking into account the negligence of the builder, the Nagpada police decided to file an FIR so as to take necessary action. “We have filed an FIR against the builder and investigating the case,” said a senior police officer of the Nagpada police station.
