Countdown to comply with the recently enforced Kerala Lifts and Escalators Rules has begun.
The Department of Electrical Inspectorate has begun issuing notices to building owners in the district already operating lifts and escalators asking them to comply with the provisions of new rules. Initially, the existing building owners with lifts and escalators were given two months’ time to comply with the new law that came into force in January. Later, the government extended the time by a year.
“The district has about 3,000 lifts and 60-odd escalators. We will start issuing notices to building owners from this month,” V.C. Anilkumar, Deputy Chief Electrical Inspector, Ernakulam, told The Hindu . Power supply to the lifts or escalators will be disconnected if the building owner fails to comply with rules.
The rule has made it mandatory to have insurance coverage for people using the lift or escalator in a building. The building owners will have to apply in form H along with a fee of Rs. 1000 and a copy of insurance policy for the persons using such lifts of escalators. The electrical inspector will inspect the lift or the escalator within 15 days from the receipt of the application. The inspector may ask the building owner to rectify the defects, if any, and submit a report of rectification, Based on the inspection and the rectification report, he shall either renew the licence or cancel it.
Mr. Anilkumar said though the new law stipulates that only lifts or escalators made by manufacturers authorized by the Department of Electrical Inspectorate should be erected, the existing ones by non-authorized manufacturers will be allowed to operate provided they satisfy the safety parameters. “Besides, a large majority of the existing lifts and escalators are by authorised manufacturers, as those made by others entered the market only a couple of years back,” he said.
If a lift or escalator is no longer in use, “the owner shall either remove it or maintain it in safe mechanical condition after disconnecting it entirely from the power supply. All entries shall be blocked so as to prevent the accidental entry to prevent inadvertent use,” the Rules stipulate.
