Ensuring safe lifts for all

In Dhaka, most offices, courts, hospitals, and educational institutions have such old lifts that using them often feels like risking one’s life. Many lifts shake, and if overloaded, they make terrifying noises. Yet, people continue to use these lifts despite the danger. Incidents of fatalities while using lifts occasionally make the news, but there is a lack of awareness from both the institutions and the lift users.

A report in the newspaper on October 27 revealed that a university official tragically lost his life after falling while using a manual cargo lift in the Mokarram building of Dhaka University. The official, Abdullah Sagar, was a senior assistant accountant at the Faculty of Fine Arts. He was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital in critical condition around 10:45 AM on Friday, where he later succumbed to his injuries.

According to available information, the lift in that building is quite old and must be manually pulled open. After calling the lift on the seventh floor, the official opened the door to enter before the lift arrived and fell, suffering severe injuries. His colleagues later took him to the hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. Reports of fatalities due to lift accidents frequently appear in the media. The question arises: why don’t institutions take this seriously? It is absolutely unacceptable for someone to die in a lift accident at an institution like Dhaka University.

The dire condition of lifts can be observed in many offices across Dhaka. The old lifts in aged buildings operate like rundown buses. Just as unfit buses are banned by law, we demand that hazardous lifts be similarly decommissioned. Otherwise, such accidents will continue to happen. Some lifts in areas like Motijheel, Purana Paltan, Kakrail, and Karwan Bazar are in such terrible shape that it’s frightening to even use them. Yet, in multi-story buildings, one has no choice but to rely on these lifts.

It seems unlikely that the owners will replace these lifts before any horrific accident occurs. Just as the media should publish reports on this issue, the authorities must also take appropriate action. We urge the owners to adopt safe measures before any incident happens. At the same time, the administration needs to take necessary steps in this regard. The city authorities must ensure that lifts do not become death traps.