Councillor stuck in lift in BBMP office

High drama ensued after a councillor got stuck in the lift in the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) council building on Wednesday morning. Several BBMP employees scrambled to “rescue” the councillor M. Chandrappa Reddy, who is also the chairperson of the Standing Committee for Ward level works.

Turns out, the lift was not even commissioned and was being operated on a trial basis. BBMP officials in the electrical division clarified to The Hindu that the lift was being operated on request from the councillors. “The company has still not handed over the lift to the BBMP. Some civil work is still pending. It will be commissioned only after the Karnataka State Electrical Inspectorate inspects and certify it,” officials said.

At around 12.30 p.m., Mr. Reddy got into the lift. As the lift came to the ground floor, there was a power outage. Even after the generator was switched on, the lift doors didn’t open.

Mr. Reddy told The Hindu that he called the staff from his office, who rushed to the ground floor. They used crowbars to pry open the lift doors and rescue him. “I was stuck inside with the lift operator for nearly 30 minutes. I was more concerned about the lack of ventilation,” he said.

The officials added that the lift got stuck following a power outage. “Even before we could open the lift doors with the key, a few peons had damaged the lift doors with crowbars. We could not open the lift with the key as the door were damaged and bent. Had they waited for a little longer, the doors could have been opened with the key,” they said and added that the company that supplied the lift had been intimated and would repair the same.