GUWAHATI, Sept 1 - Eight visitors were last night trapped inside a lift at the Old MLA Hostel here for nearly half an hour.
Official sources said the eight people had gone to visit Badarpur MLA Jamaluddin Ahmed at his official residence in the third floor of the A Block of Old MLA Hostel.
�When they were climbing down, they suddenly got stuck inside the lift between the second floor and the first floor at around 9.30 pm for nearly half an hour. One of the trapped visitors communicated with his friends who got in touch with the security personnel there. Police and SDRF personnel rushed to the spot and rescued the visitors,� the source said.
One of the rescued visitors had to be taken to the hospital.
This is not the first case of malfunctioning of a lift at the MLA Hostel or the Secretariat.
Education Minister Siddhartha Bhattacharyya was trapped inside a lift in the Secretariat�s D Block recently for a few minutes.
Sources said such malfunctioning of lifts at the Secretariat is a regular phenomenon, raising questions on their maintenance that has been outsourced.
The lift in the CM block also often develops snags, sources said, giving scary experiences to users. However, there is an exclusive elevator for the Chief Minister.
The lift at the A Block of the Secretariat was lying defunct for many days but was repaired recently.
�There are no people to attend in case there is an emergency at the MLA Hostel. If there is an incident, the police are the first responders. At the Secretariat, there are a few people engaged by the firm which looks after the maintenance of these lifts,� the source said.
The firm has deployed twenty-six people to look after the lifts at the Secretariat during office hours.
There are over 15 lifts in the Secretariat. Around 1,500 to 2,000 people visit the Janata Bhavan every day.
