mid day editorial: Make high-rises visitor-friendly

Illustration/Uday Mohite

This paper's front page account of how a woman was trapped on the 39th floor of an under construction building after being led wrongly by a bell boy, has the omigosh-it-can-happen-to-me factor and that explains its resonance for readers. It was a harrowing ordeal for the woman, as she couldn't find any flat on the last floor. There were no buttons on the lift circuit either. Some workers heard her cries for help at least 45 minutes later, and rescued her.

While that ordeal may be over, we need to have some serious take backs from this experience. Today, our urbanscape is dotted with high-rises, plush lobbies, zippy lifts, suited booted security, buildings with club houses, lounges and corporate space have become more common. There has to be very prominent and proper signage everywhere. These signs should be visible late evening and night so that people in complexes, finding their way around can spot them easily.

Today, we see three to four towers in one compound. Different wings, similar names, very similar interiors can be confusing for a person negotiating the space for the first time. Ill informed staff is an absolute no-no. Ideally, there needs to be a liftman in these elevators of high-rise buildings. Just an alarm bell will not do. Even under construction buildings must be adequately staffed with security and personnel on the ground floor. Guiding a guest to a wrong elevator is simply shocking.

Visitors, too, must call and make sure that they are in the correct building, accessing the correct lift, and going the right way. If in any doubt, tell your host to be downstairs to guide you if possible. This is a very-real-and-can-happen-to-anybody scenario. This is why caution lights should be blinking and new buildings with their complex, slightly daunting skyscrapers become easy to negotiate spaces for visitors.

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