I trust when an Aam Admi is stuck, similar action against those responsible will be taken. ☺
Best regards, U. G. Barad 3 held after Maharashtra industries minister Narayan Rane gets stuck in a lift for 45 minutes Author: Vijay V Singh & Sharad Vyas Publication: The Times of India Date: September 1, 2012 URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/3-held-after-Maharashtra-industries-minister-Narayan-Rane-gets-stuck-in-a-lift-for-45-minutes/articleshow/16089015.cms For once, the political warhorse's clout and cunning could not extract him out of a tight spot immediately. State industries minister Narayan Rane got trapped in an elevator for 45 minutes with five members of his entourage on Thursday afternoon. During that period, many distress calls went out and the police ran helter-skelter. Three employees of the lift's maintenance firm were arrested and booked following the incident. Making light of the episode, the senior Congress leader said he has directed the police to desist from blowing it out of proportion. "Everything was brought under control in time," said a close aide of the minister. Rane went to Mangal Murti, an eight-storey commercial centre on Linking Road in Santa Cruz, around noon on Thursday on a "personal visit" with his bodyguards and officer on special duty. As he and five members of his posse were inside, the elevator got stuck on the third floor. Soon, calls for help were made to the police and the fire brigade. The cops responded within 10 minutes. But since no technical help could be found, the police informed Otis, the elevator's maintenance handler. Otis' engineers arrived at the building in about half an hour. Within 10 minutes of that, they brought down the elevator and pried its doors open from outside. The fire brigade reached the spot after the drama ended. The delay, senior fire officials said, was because of heavy traffic and confusion over the building location. Following the rescue, the Santa Cruz police registered a case under Section 336 of the Indian Penal Code (endangering life or personal safety of others) and arrested three Otis staffers. They were released on bail the same day. "It is not the first time a complaint has been received regarding this elevator's maintenance. Considering this, the employees should have taken greater care to ensure the safety of patrons visiting the building," said a senior police officer. An Otis spokesperson refused to comment despite repeated attempts, while representatives of a clothing store on Mangal Murti's first three floors said Rane was using a common lift in the building and not the store's. Maharashtra's public works department has faced frequent criticism over poor maintenance of nearly 73,000 lifts in the state. There are reportedly only 11 engineers to inspect these thousands of elevators. "The lift maintenance and upkeep in residential and commercial buildings still remains woefully inadequate even though the government has tried filling up some vacancies of inspectors," said activist Krishnaraj Rao. Rao was a co-applicant in an RTI plea that revealed there was only one PWD inspector for 6,500 lifts in Maharashtra until 2010.
