7 TRAPPED FOR 2 HOURS IN PGI LIFT, OFFICIALS PLAY BLAME GAME

LUCKNOW Seven people, including two women, had a harrowing time in a lift that remained stuck for two hours between third and fourth floors of the New OPD building of the Sanjay Gandhi Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS) on Wednesday.

One of the women fainted and the maintenance staff had to cut the upper door of the lift to supply oxygen inside it.

The laxity of the maintenance staff was exposed when the generator for the back-up supply was found out of order and had no diesel.

Senior administrative officer of SGPGIMS Bharat Singh and security officer Amar Singh reached the spot after getting information about the incident.

The PGI staff provided tea and water bottles to the people once the roof and a part of the door were cut.

SGPGI director Prof Rakesh Kapoor, who was in Delhi, has ordered an inquiry into the matter.

The failure of the lift triggered a blame game between the SGPGI authorities and officials of the UP Rajkiya Nirman Nigam (UPRNN).

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Chief medical superintendent (CMS) Prof Amit Agarwal said: “The incident is unfortunate but I want to make it clear that the building is still under the control of Rajkiya Nirman Nigam. The building is yet to be handed over to PGI. We have written to UPRNN to explain the reasons behind the failure of lift and why the generator was not immediately started after the power cut.”

Managing director, UPRNN, Rajan Mittal said he was not aware of the issue and would respond after talking to the officials concerned.

Meanwhile, at least 25 operations scheduled for Wednesday had to be postponed due to disruption in power supply.

Due to power failure, the AC plant of operation theatre area stopped functioning. A surgeon who had to postpone a surgery said: “I cannot risk the life of my patient. Due to AC failure, there are chances of infections to patient due to dampness.”