NOIDA, Sept 15: Four workers died today after a service lift had a free fall from the fourteenth floor at an under-construction group housing society in Greater Noida West, also known as Noida Extension, police said.
Five other workers suffered injuries and were admitted to the district hospital in critical condition, the police said in a statement.
The incident took place around 8.30 am at the under-construction site of Amrapali Dream Valley Society, the police added.
This long-stalled project is being completed by the state-run NBCC. According to a police official, the service lift which was carrying the workers from the ground floor had a free fall from the fourteenth floor. District Magistrate Manish Verma said, “Four workers died in the incident while five others were hospitalised in a critical condition.”
Verma, who visited the injured at the hospital and inspected the under-construction site as well, said the matter is being investigated and action would be ensured against anyone found guilty.
“We will recommend financial compensation for the victims as per the law and guidelines of the Labour Code. The matter is under investigation as of now,” Verma told PTI.
The deceased workers have been identified as Ishtaq Ali (23) of Bihar’s Balrampur district, Arun Tanti Mandal (40) of Bihar’s Banka, Vipot Mandal (45) of Bihar’ Katihar and Aris Khan (22) of Amroha district in Uttar Pradesh.
Those injured have been identified as Asul Mustaqeem, Abdul Mustaqeem, Kuldeep Pal, Kaif, Arbaaz Ali — natives of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, the police said. Officials of the construction company could not be immediately contacted for their response.
Other senior officers including Police Commissioner Laxmi Singh and Greater Noida Authority CEO NG Ravi Kumar also visited the site for inspection.
Meanwhile, the police have asked the workers living in under-construction buildings near the incident spot to vacate the premises.
DM Verma said that the police have cited “precautionary measures” for evacuating these residents.
Construction workers said the sudden police order for removal has left them worried.
“Thousands of workers, including women, live within the project premises. Where would we find shelter all of a sudden now?” a worker who hails from Bihar’s Katihar district told PTI, requesting not to be named.
Another worker from West Bengal claimed the ambulance arrived at the spot half an hour after the incident.
“The incident took place around 8.30 am. Initially, a small ambulance came and took three workers with it. Later a small pickup truck arrived in which the other five injured workers were sent to hospital,” the worker said.
Additional police force and PAC personnel arrived at the society around 2 pm and began removal of labourers and their families.
Friday morning’s incident comes within 50 days from the death of a 72-year-old woman in a group housing society in Noida inside a lift that malfunctioned. The woman possibly died of a heart attack.
Uttar Pradesh currently does not have any law to regulate the installation, maintenance or usage of lifts, even as residents in Noida and Greater Noida have been raising demands for it time and again. (PTI)
After the elderly woman’s death, UP Power Minister A K Sharma had informed the state assembly on August 10 that the promulgation of the Lift and Escalator Act in the state was under process. (PTI)
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