Nuapada: The fire personnel Wednesday afternoon rescued a Collectorate employee, who was stranded for one hour in a newly-installed lift at building.
The incident happened when the 32-year-old Aftab Ali Khan, an employee of the Land Acquisition Department, came down via the new lift to have his lunch.
However, the power supply went off suddenly, leaving him stranded in the lift. Aftab felt breathlessness.
“It seemed I was about to die. When I was thinking about a plan to escape, I called my colleagues from my mobile phone and informed them about my condition,” Aftab said.
The employees immediately informed the Fire Department following which the fire personnel reached the spot.
They had to break open the lift gate to rescue Aftab. The operation lasted nearly 20 minutes.
All the employees gathered at the spot to see the rescue operation and when Aftab came out, they cheered him.
According to reports, Aarohi manufactured and fixed the lift but the company is yet to hand over it to the Collectorate.
However, the lift was in use for the last eight days due to the increase in election-related work.
The District Collector and election observers have also used the lift several times. A few days ago, some employees also got struck in the lift for five to ten minutes.
Notably, Nuapada Collectorate is one of the few model Collectorates in the state. For the first time the lift facility has been introduced in the Collectorate. The PWD Department engaged Aarohi to install the lift at a cost of Rs 25 lakh. The company is said to have installed the facility and left in haste.
A specific key is used to operate the lift. This key, said to be handy during an emergency, has also not been handed over to the Collectorate.
Some employees have raised questions about the quality of the lift.
SDO Kshiradhar Kandapani said, “The lift installation work has not been completed. The GED has been entrusted with the job. The lift is currently being used on a test basis to see if it works properly.”
