Malfunctioning lift traps two women for over an hour at Noida high-rise

Two women house helps were trapped for over an hour in a malfunctioning lift at Jaypee Greens Wish Town, in Sector 134, Noida, on Monday, residents said, adding that they were rescued only after technicians from the maintenance company arrived on the scene and opened the door using a special lock release.

Residents said since neither woman was physically hurt, no police complaint was filed in the matter.

According residents, the incident happened around 9am Monday. The two house helps were going to work in flats in B43 cluster, Tower KM51 when their lift got stuck between level 5 and 6, they said.

Residents said they were startled by screams coming from the lift. They went to check and saw that two women were stuck in the lift, who urged them to fetch security guards to help them exit the lift.

“The phone inside the lift was not working owing to poor maintenance and that only added to their panic. Some residents took videos of the immobile lift and sent it to the building management while other went to fetch the security guards who rushed to help,” Shishir Soni, a resident of KM 63 and a senior journalist, said.

“The women were stranded in the lift for more than an hour as the technicians from the facility management group of Jaypee, the agency looking after the lifts, arrived only after 10am,” Soni said.

“When I shared the video of the incident to the building management team, let alone taking cognizance of the matter, they did not even respond to me. I have time and again asked the management to share details OF their deal with the lift makers and a proper record of its maintenance. Nothing has been furnished yet,” Soni said.

Residents said technicians appointed by the building management arrived after over an hour and used a special lock release to open the lift and rescue the women.

The residents’ welfare association of the high-rise refused comment on the matter.

But a resident said this is the fifth such incident in a year at that particular society.

Jaypee facility management group in charge VK Dutta did not respond to calls and messages seeking comment.

The Uttar Pradesh government, last year passed the UP Lift and Escalator Act 2024, to regulate and provide registration of the construction, building, installation, maintenance, and safe working of lifts and escalators and of all machinery and apparatus pertaining thereto in the State of Uttar Pradesh.

However its implementation can be deemed challenging as ensuring compliance with the regulations across all buildings and facilities in Uttar Pradesh can be complicated, especially without sufficient monitoring and enforcement mechanisms in place, said experts.

In August last year, a 70-year-old woman died after a lift in Tower 24 in the Paras Tierea Society in Sector 137 went into a free fall and ascended rapidly to reach the 25th floor.

In December 2023, nine- employees of a Noida-based IT firm in Noida Sector 125’s River Side Tower were injured after the lift they were travelling in crashed eight floors.

Just last month, again in Paras Tierea Society, three occupants were injured after a lift malfunctioned and shot up to the roof.

“Although the lift act has been enacted, it has not been implemented yet and thus many such incidents continue to happen every day. A nodal office should be set up to oversee these matters,” Noida Federation of Apartment Owners Associations president Rajiva Singh said.