Minor fire breaks out in killer Borivli elevator

A minor fire broke out in the elevator of a housing society in Borivli on Monday.

According to the residents of Manorath housing society in Borivli West, at around 5.30pm on Monday, the lift caught fire reportedly because of short circuit.

The elevator has been a cause for concern for the residents of the building for some time.

On March 23, at around 10 am, Chhaya Shetty (50), a widow, had lost her life after falling off the empty elevator shaft.

However, the society has not taken any step to address the residents’ concerns. “The committee has not held a single meeting to discuss the problem of the lift,” said Surendra Shetty, Chhaya’s nephew.

He has been running from pillar to post to get justice for his aunt.“The secretary has gone incommunicado and is never available. Nor have any of the residents tried to talk to us about the incident or the case,” said Shetty adding that it appeared that the secretary was trying to avoid the problem.

The Borivli police are waiting for the report from the state Public Works Department (PWD) and are yet to register a case in this regard.

When informed that the lift had caught fire on Monday, L Salekar, Assistant electrical engineer from the PWD, who is a part of the team that is inquiring into the incident, said that it was high time that some action was taken to make sure the lift functioned without any problems.

Mayur Ramaiya, the building’s secretary was unavailable for comment.

First Published: Apr 14, 2010 01:16 IST