They were taken to Masina hospital and treated for extensive injuries. Dr Havewala developed some complications 10 days later and died on the morning of Thursday, May 9, at the hospital
A Mumbai dentist lost her life after the elevator at the Bhau Daji Lad museum malfunctioned on April 28. In a widely followed tragedy, every newspaper reported how Arnavaz Havewala perished 10 days after being injured in a lift at the museum, which is tucked away in the precincts of the Byculla zoo.
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To give this edit some context, the dentist and her daughter took the lift at the museum, which they were visiting on Sunday afternoon. The lift stopped and then went into free fall, with the mother-daughter inside the lift which fell 10 feet.
They were taken to Masina hospital and treated for extensive injuries. Dr Havewala developed some complications 10 days later and died on the morning of Thursday, May 9, at the hospital.
This shows us the absolute importance of having lifts in public and private buildings maintained to perfection. It is also shocking that there was no liftman in the elevator which was in a public building.
There should be a trained liftman in every lift in a public institution. The museum is under the BMC, so civic authorities needed to have cracked the whip on this one, not allowing the lift to function unless there was a trained operator there at all times.
Buildings must ensure maintenance and checks are conducted in time for all elevators. Putting off maintenance or fobbing off questions by saying that the maintenance person is unavailable cannot cut it. The strictest penalties must be reserved for those who skip these musts, citing a litany of excuses.
The horrific accident must serve as a huge learning lesson for authorities. Human life is not cheap that such mishaps cannot be explained away as freaks. This is negligence and a life has been lost at that. We need to learn and act after this.
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