We must see at least one person on duty near escalators and elevators in all public buildings
The toddler received 25 stitches on his right palm. Pic/Rajesh Gupta
Two days after a two-year-old lost three of his fingers in an escalator mishap, the Mulund police registered a case of negligence. The police filed an FIR against authorities and technicians in charge of the escalator maintenance in the mall under IPC Section 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others).
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Exercise plenty of caution seems to be the lesson that we must learn after reading the report.
This paper's recent front page report, which has evinced plenty of reaction, stated how the two-year-old rushed away from his father towards an escalator. He fell when he tried climbing it while the escalator was descending. His fingers came between two steps of the escalator.
We must see at least one person on duty near escalators and elevators in all public buildings. These should be trained staff who know how to shut off the system in case of any malfunction.
At times, we do not see anybody near escalators. During lean times for business, there is no liftman in elevators. One can imagine the panic if an elevator malfunctions.
Children need to be very strictly supervised while accessing all these. Often, one sees little children going up and down escalators for joy rides. While one wishes them all the fun and merriment on a day out, this is the last place where they should be allowed to play or horse around. They must always be accompanied by someone older on escalators and must not try to access floors alone inside elevators.
Every public space must have alarms for such incidents and personnel trained for quick response in case of emergencies. Clear signboards about what to do in case of an emergency next to escalators are a must too.
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