Hostel lift had maintenance issues, say college students
GHAZIABAD: Students of IMS Ghaziabad (University Courses Campus) have refuted the college authorities’ claim that the lift crashed only because it was overloaded. They alleged that the lift in question had maintenance issues, adding that the doors of the lifts generally do not close when they are overloaded, but this was not the case on Wednesday.
“Generally, the lifts don’t move, even their doors don’t close if they are overloaded. On Wednesday, the doors closed despite the lift allegedly exceeding the permitted number of people. This particular lift has maintenance issues and we have been flagging it to the college management,” a student pursuing the BBA course and residing in the boys’ hostel told HT, requesting anonymity.
Students said that this was the very first time that a lift on the campus came crashing down, though some minor issues with the functioning of the lifts crop up often.
Students, however, did agree that there were at least 12 students in the lift — though its capacity was only eight.
“The overloading was probably one of the reasons for the accident. I boarded it on the sixth floor, while more students entered it from the fifth floor. Normally, the doors close slowly but on Wednesday, they closed with a jerk and the lift crashed immediately. I suffered injuries near my spine and also on the right knee,” said Sumeet Singh, an injured BCA student, who hails from Varanasi in UP and is undergoing treatment.
College officials, meanwhile, said that they have handed over all lift-related documents to the district authorities.
“We maintain that the incident took place due to overloading and we are open to any investigation. We will fully cooperate with the police and the district authorities and also ensure that the injured students are properly treated,” said Ajay Kumar, director, IMS.
The district administration officials, who visited the college for an investigation during the day, said that prima facie it appeared that overloading did lead to the crash.
“We have checked the service logs of this particular lift and found that it was last serviced on March 26. The lift’s maximum capacity is 544kg. We have also seen footage from CCTV cameras, which shows four students boarding it on the sixth floor, while the rest boarding it on the fifth. When the door closed, the lift came crashing down. We have asked department engineers from Meerut to conduct an inspection,” said Vikay Kumar Singh, sub-divisional magistrate.
“The college has also been asked to make proper arrangements for the parents of the injured students as they have started arriving. No police complaint has been registered yet and all the eight hospitalised students are in a stable condition,” Singh added.