Noida lift crash: 83 per cent residents report stuck elevator episodes

Following the deadly elevator accident in Greater Noida on 15 September, in which eight construction workers were killed, a survey on Saturday, 16 September, revealed that 83 per cent of Noida residents who use lifts reported one or more family members stuck in a lift in the last three years, which is far worse than the national average of 58 per cent.

A month ago, an elderly lady resident of a Noida society reportedly passed away after being stuck in a lift for nearly an hour.

The 'India Lift Safety' survey conducted by LocalCircles covered 5,171 respondents living in Noida and Greater Noida, comprising 62 per cent men and 38 per cent women. The survey was conducted via the LocalCircles platform, and all participants were validated citizens who had to be registered with LocalCircles to participate.

The survey report said, "Lifts do require rigorous maintenance as they are expected to function properly for the lifetime of the building, which may be five or more decades."

A question in the survey — in the last three years, how many times has it happened that you or someone close to you in your residential building got stuck in one of the lifts or had a safety incident — elicited 1,719 responses, with "83 per cent of those surveyed indicating with surety that they or someone living in their building has experienced such incidents more than once in the last three years".

It also said that among those who have experienced or have someone close to them experience such incidents, 51 per cent indicated that it has happened “1-2 times'', 22 per cent indicated it has happened “3-5 times” in the last three years while 10 per cent respondents reported “6-9 times''.

"Of the remaining, 2 per cent stated that such incidents have 'happened but can’t say how many times', 3 per cent stated it has 'never happened in the last three years' and 12 per cent expressed relief that 'never happened luckily'," the report highlighted.

The survey report said the percentage of Noida lift users who have had a family member getting stuck in a lift in the last three years is much higher at 83 per cent as compared to the 58 per cent national average.

It also said that New Indian Standard IS 17491:2020 on lifts was released by BIS in 2022, to guide users on enhanced safety features and upgrades required for old lifts running in the building.

However, the country lacks mandatory standards for maintenance of lifts and most states do not have a state lift act to enforce standards, thereby leaving the safety of lifts in the hands of society or property managers, AOA functionaries, lift owners, untrained staff in societies and third-party lift maintenance contractors.

The survey also said that as the previous national survey had revealed that there is a lackadaisical attitude to lift maintenance in some housing societies, which have mushroomed in small towns, the survey sought to know 'how are the lifts in your residential building (society or house) maintained'.

The query received 1,687 responses with 33 per cent of those surveyed indicating that it is 'maintained by the lift manufacturer', 38 per cent stating that it is 'maintained by a third party contractor', 22 per cent stating that it is 'maintained by our society staff or other miscellaneous staff', and most worrying response by 7 per cent of respondents was that 'no one maintains other than on call in case of issues'.

It further said that given the lack of adherence to safety rules, the survey next asked Noida residents if they believed the government should create mandatory standards for lift maintenance and enforcement, to which out of 1,765 respondents, 78 per cent stated 'yes, this is a must' while the remaining 22 per cent responded with 'no, this will cause more problems or will never get implemented'.

It said that in summary, the fact that 83 per cent of Noida and Greater Noida residents have had one or more family members stuck in a lift in the last three years, compared to the national average of 58 per cent, indicates that the situation in the city is far worse.

The report suggested that the district or its two authorities of Noida and Greater Noida must consider forming a set of standard rules to maintain lifts along with a system driven annual inspection process.

Giving all installations a set timeframe to comply or shut their lifts is the only way lift related accidents can be minimised, it added.

Though the Noida administration has announced a survey across lift installations, in the absence of a state lift act and mandatory maintenance standards in the country, Noida residents aren’t optimistic about the move yielding much.